Their Final Year
by NinjaDays
Summary: Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Draco return to Hogwarts to finish their final year. Hermione and Draco unknowingly begin to grow close, to the dismay of her best friend and current boyfriend. Fights break out, relationships end while others begin, and friendships end. Dramione AU.
1. Chapter 1

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked, a strong, puzzled look in his eyes.

"Something has to be done about this, you know that." Hermione replied, burying her face in her hands. She let out a groan in frustration. "I can't believe I let it get this far. What am I going to do, Harry?"

Harry stood up and walked over to the window, hands clasped behind his back. "You need to be honest with him, tell him what's going on."

"Do you know how hard that will be? He's been in love with me for so long, it'll crush him. I know it will." Head still buried in her hands, Hermione let out another, less audible groan. "I-I don't know if I can handle that."

"The longer you wait to tell him the truth, the harder it will be on both of you, Hermione."

* * *

In the months following her move to the Burrow, Hermione had spent much of her time with Ron. Truthfully she enjoyed their time together, even though Ron could sometimes be overbearing. Clinging to her every word and movement, Hermione began to feel suffocated.

Once dinner was finished, Hermione asked Ginny to talk in her bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, both girls looked at each other awkwardly. Hermione didn't know where to start. She felt strange wanting to confide in her boyfriends' sister about their problems, but there wasn't anyone else that could possibly understand what was going on.

"It's... It's about Ron..." Hermione said, her eyes locked on her hands she kept wringing together. Looking up, she continued. "He can be really... clingy sometimes, to be honest." Hermione confessed, feeling embarrassed to be confiding in Ginny. "I mean, I enjoy spending time with him, you know, but I would like some time to myself once in a while."

Ginny looked at Hermione with understanding in her eyes. "I know. Ron can get... over-protective." Standing up quickly, Ginny surprised herself with a sudden thought. "I know what I'll do! Just leave it to me!"

"Ginny, wait! What are you going to do?" Hermione called out after her, a second too late. Ginny had already left the room.

 _I hope she doesn't do anything too drastic_ , Hermione thought. Deciding she'd turn in for the night, Hermione shut out the lights with one fluid movement of her wand.

* * *

A night of nightmare filled insomnia plagued her. When she slept, she saw that room again. That damned room where... _that_ happened. Blurred faces swirled around her, suffocating her. She tried to escape, but no matter what she did, she never succeeded. Writhing about to get out of _her_ grasp while she was being tortured, Hermione turned her head and saw _him_. The horrific look in his eyes watching his aunt torture her was the last thing she saw before waking in sheer terror.

Gasping for air that wouldn't enter her lungs, she clung to the crumpled, sweat-covered sheets. She tried to scream, but her voice caught in her throat. When her lungs finally filled with the cool night air, Hermione stood and walked to the window on the other side of the room.

As she got to the window, she opened it up fully and leaned against the window sill. Sticking her head out the window, Hermione looked up at the night sky. It was a deep, dark blue that was completely covered in stars with no clouds in sight. The view took her breath away.

"Another nightmare?" Harry asked, standing in the doorway to her room.

Letting out a slight yelp in terror, Hermione spun around to where the voice came from. "Merlin's beard, Harry! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry." Harry said around slight laughter. After entering the room, Harry sat down at the small desk chair near the window. "I heard you calling out in your sleep, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks," She replied, turning to face the open window once more. "I'm alright. Just... a little frightened. I'll be fine."

After a few moments of silence, Harry stood up. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I just need some time to think. Thanks for being concerned for me, Harry." Hermione said while heading back to her bed.

"Well, if you're sure, I'll just leave you to it then." Harry said, crossing the room to the door on his right.

"Thanks again, Harry." Hermione said, her voice almost a whisper as Harry closed the door behind himself.

 _I should probably try to get some sleep_ , Hermione thought. Curing up on her side, she let out a soft sigh. _Who knows what tomorrow will bring..._

* * *

Hermione woke to the sound of light laughter and mumbled voices coming from downstairs. Taking a few minutes to get used to the light in the room, Hermione sat at the edge of her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Making her way down the four flights of stairs, Hermione noticed the soft flapping sound of owls headed away from the house.

Overjoyed at what the owls meant, she ran down the remaining steps and headed to the kitchen. Finally making it there, she found those special letters waiting for them on the table.

"We waited until you woke up to open them!" Ron shouted excitedly at Hermione as she sat down.

Hogwarts had finally reopened and classes would soon resume as normal. That's what the letters signified. She, Ron, and Harry had all been invited back to Hogwarts to redo their final year. Ginny, of course, would be a seventh year student with them.

"I can't believe it's back open!" Harry exclaimed, looking around the room with an excited glow about him. "Hogwarts reopening really shows that the war is truly over."

* * *

 _Authors note:_ Well, here it is! The first chapter of my very first Harry Potter Fanfic. Sorry if it's a bit rough around the edges, only one other person has read this chapter/story, and she wasn't a beta for me, just a friend. Unbeta'd and edited by yours truly, I certainly hope you all enjoy the story! I already have quite a few chapters written, so I'm hoping to do weekly chapter updates. Please please review and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

In the months following the war, Draco couldn't find much solace at home. With his mother distant and his father in Azkaban, there wasn't anything there for him. The only thing he could do to keep his mind off of everything that had happened in the previous year was read. He absolutely loved to read, something most people didn't know about him.

Recently, Draco had stumbled across a small shop in Diagon Alley that sold both Muggle and Wizarding books alike. It had become his favorite shop ever since he found it. He had to visit the shop at least once a week, if not more, to pick up more books for him to read.

After a quick visit to the shop to pick up 'Hogwarts: A History' for his library, Draco found himself wandering home at an ever slowing pace. Honestly, he didn't want to go home. Going home meant facing his mother, something he couldn't stand any longer. With her face growing ever paler, Draco couldn't look at her anymore.

When he finally arrived at home, he found his mother waiting for him just inside the doorway, letter in hand. Confusion marked his face as he closed the doors behind him.

"This arrived for you just after you left," Narcissa said as she handed Draco the letter, "I wanted to give it to you personally."

Taking a quick glance at the letter in his mother's hand, he instantly recognized the seal and what it meant before he opened it. Hogwarts had reopened. That's what the letter was about. In the three short months following the war, Hogwarts would reopen in the next month and classes would resume.

Taking the letter from his mother, both Draco and Narcissa went into the family room. Quickly sitting down in one of the grand chairs surrounding the fireplace, he sliced the candle wax seal and hastily read the letter.

"Are you going to go back?" Narcissa chimed from a chair across from Draco's. "I mean, do you think it's a good idea after everything that's happened?"

Not lifting his eyes from the letter in his hand, Draco sighed. "I... I don't know."

"I think you should," Narcissa said as she stood up and crossed the short distance between the two of them to stand next to Draco's chair, "I think you should go back and finish your education at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Draco looked up, completely stunned at what his mother had said. "You really think I should go back?"

* * *

Following a filling three course meal, Draco excused himself and went to his room. He had been thinking about his decision all day to the point of sheer mental exhaustion. Just before dinner, he had decided to take an early night.

As he lied in bed, his mind kept wandering back to his decision. Should he go back? What would be waiting for him if he did? Would anyone even _want_ him there? He didn't know what to do. He knew that finishing his education was important and he would love the opportunity to get away from home, but what if he wasn't welcome back?

"Enough! I'm going back. No matter what happens, I _have_ to go back." Draco said as he sat up in bed. Looking around, he searched for some sign of someone to answer him. He felt ridiculous having said his decision aloud, but he felt even worse expecting someone to answer back.

Now that his decision had been made he knew he could get to sleep. Lying on his stomach with his arms wrapped around his pillow, Draco began to drift into sleep. Unlike other nights, sleep came easy for him.

Sleeping peacefully, he dreamed of a better time. In this dream, he wasn't a Malfoy, he had no Death Eater family, and there was no war. Only happiness and excitement flooded into him during this dream as he spent time with his new found friends, Harry and Hermione. In this dream, Ron wasn't around. Ron wasn't there to ruin his fun.

* * *

He woke the next morning to the light click of his door being latched closed. Attempting to hide from the sudden eye-burning light that flooded around him, Draco buried his face deeper into his pillow and grunted.

Lying there for a few minutes, he determined that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep any longer. Lifting his head slightly, he decided to examine where that assaulting light was coming from. Taking a few moments to let his eyes adjust, Draco looked around his room. What he had found didn't surprise him; Narcissa had been in to open the drapes that covered his three grand windows.

After showering, dressing, and brushing his teeth and hair, Draco walked down the main set of stairs as he headed towards the kitchen. As he got about half way down, he decided to stop and look out one of the windows that overlooked the path to their door. The grass outside was a brilliant green; the sky a light, summer blue with little clouds overhead. Surprisingly enough to him, he felt good. His decision had been made and he was happy with his choice.

"I'm going back, mother," Draco said as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen. "I'm going back to Hogwarts to finish my final year."

Narcissa stood up and ran to her son. "Oh Draco, I'm so proud of you!" she managed to say around the tight embrace she held Draco in.

* * *

 _Authors note:_ It's a little short, but here's chapter two, this time from Draco's POV. Each chapter is going to be changing between Draco and Hermione, but it still follows the same time frame. I hope that doesn't get confusing to you guys. Again, review review review!


	3. Chapter 3

In the weeks following receiving their letters from Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron began to spend less and less time together. She didn't mind, though. She had finally started to feel comfortable with their relationship again, no longer suffocating under Ron's constant need for attention.

Hermione found her passion for reading again, her depression growing smaller. Ron, on the other hand, had experienced a different effect following their shortened time with each other. He began to grow angry, becoming agitated at even the slightest thing.

Everyone gathered in the living room of the Burrow, getting ready to go to Diagon Alley to shop for the items they needed for the new school year. Looking at the small troop of young adults in front of her, Molly was beaming.

"Is everyone ready to go?" She chimed, thinking about how much everyone had grown. She could still remember how little they had been during their first year at Hogwarts, how confused Harry had been trying to figure out how to access Platform 9 3/4 when they stumbled across him in the train station. She couldn't believe those small kids were the ones looking before her now.

"Can we just go already? We've been ready for ages," Ron piped up, his face getting redder as his anger grew. "We aren't twelve anymore, mother. We can take care of ourselves."

"Well," Molly huffed as she crossed her arms and leaned against the edge of the fireplace. "I guess I'm not needed here anymore."

With that, she left the room in a hurry, determining they could handle everything by themselves.

"Ron! How could you?" Ginny yelled, her eyes filled with a deep seeded anger. "You know how mum can get around this time of year."

"Whatever. I'll meet you there." Ron snapped back as he moved to the side of the small group. Disapparating before anyone could protest his sudden anger, he left the three of them completely stunned.

After a few moments of silence, Harry moved in front of both Hermione and Ginny. "Well _that_ was interesting..." he lightly joked as he wrapped his female companions arms around his own. "We should probably get going."

* * *

Fighting their way through the crowded street of Diagon Alley, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny looked for Ron who seemed to not want to be found. They looked everywhere, to no avail. Blaming herself for Ron's sudden burst of anger, Hermione dropped her head and clutched her small bag.

 _I knew talking to Ginny was a bad idea..._ she thought as she trudged forward, her head still tilted to the ground. As she watched her feet instead of where she was going, Hermione kept walking, thinking she was still with Harry and Ginny. When she looked up, the two were nowhere to be found. She had managed to lose them, too.

Glancing around the small nook she had found herself in, Hermione searched for any trace of her companions. As she looked to her right, she noticed a small shop she had never seen before. A small sign above the shop door read 'Books'. Nothing more, nothing less. Just 'Books'.

"I've never seen this shop before..." she silently said to herself as she headed to the door. "Maybe I could take a quick peek... Just for fun."

After entering the shop and closing the door behind her, Hermione was instantly overwhelmed. Large bookshelves that touched the ceiling lined the walls surrounding her. Rows of shorter, yet equally as large bookshelves stood in the middle of the shop. Each bookshelf was completely full of books, leaving no visible room for any more on their shelves.

Letting out an audible gasp as she walked through the maze of shelves, Hermione was stunned. _This place is incredible!_ She thought to herself as she continued to scan the titles. When she made it to the center of the shop, Hermione noticed two small signs above the bookshelves, separating the shop into two sections. To her right, 'Wizarding'. To her left, 'Muggle'.

After she registered what the sign above the section of books to her left had meant, she ran into the section and quickly scanned the titles, looking for one book in particular. Unknown to her, a hooded stranger stood only a few feet to her left, looking for the same book she was.

Finally finding the title she and the stranger she hadn't noticed were looking for, they reached for the book at the same time. It wasn't until their hands had brushed together that she noticed she wasn't alone.

As she retracted her hand, Hermione quickly spun to her left, startled that she hadn't noticed the hooded man standing so close to her. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you there."

"It's alright..." The stranger replied, burying his face deeper into the back of his hood. "You wanted this one, right?"

Hermione looked down to find he had been trying to hand her the book. Bringing her head back up to face the strangers, she slowly took the book from his hand as she attempted to find the face underneath the hood. Once the book had left the strangers possession, he spun around suddenly and left quickly, leaving Hermione standing there, awestruck.

"Thank you!" she called out after him, but she had been too late. The stranger had already left the shop. Standing there for a few moments as she stared at the book in her hands, Hermione tried to comprehend what had just happened.

 _It couldn't have been... It definitely wasn't..._ she thought as she headed to the clerks desk. _There's no way_ he _would be in_ this _store._ Pulling 3 galleons from her bag, Hermione paid for the book and exited the shop quickly, remembering why she had come to Diagon Alley in the first place.

* * *

Meeting back up with Harry and Ginny in front of 'Flourish and Blott's', the trio began to look for Ron once more. After another 20 minutes of searching, they finally found him in the one place they should have looked in the beginning: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Of course Ron would go to the one place he felt safe, comfortable: helping his brother George with his newly reopened shop.

Upon seeing Ron in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Hermione quickly ran to him. Folding her arms around his neck, she quickly sealed his lips with a kiss. It wasn't much more than a small peck, but it had been enough to melt any anger Ron still held after leaving the Burrow.

Separating herself from Ron, Hermione sighed. "I'm so glad you're okay." Hugging him again quickly, she sighed once more. "You really had us worried."

"Yeah, I'm sorry..." Ron replied, a genuine, sincere apology written in his eyes. Turning to face the others he had deserted, Ron apologized again. "I really am sorry."

"It's alright, no worries!" Ginny giggled, lightly slapping her brother on the shoulder. "Shall we finish our shopping then?"

"Yeah, let's go." Ron said, his hand tightly clasped around Hermione's.

* * *

 _Author's note_ : Okay, so I got over excited and decided to upload the first three chapters for all of you, totaling roughly 3,000 words. I was just too excited to help myself! As always, review review review!


	4. Chapter 4

Huffing wildly as he ran away from 'Books', Draco hoped his identity had remained a secret. Upon first seeing _her_ there in the same isle, all he had wanted to do was grab the book he was looking for and leave immediately without her seeing him. Things went from bad to worse when he realized they had been searching for the same book.

When he finally stopped running, he found himself in a small, safe area away from everyone else. Lowering his head and closing his eyes, Draco apparated quickly, not caring where he ended up. The only thing he wanted was to get as far away as he could, as fast as he could.

Finally lifting his head and opening his eyes, Draco found himself inside his bedroom, completely alone. After slinging his book bag onto one of the chairs near his large windows, he flopped onto his bed and began to reconsider his decision. In all the time thinking about his decision to go back to Hogwarts, it never occurred to him that the Golden Trio would possibly be returning too.

Thinking back to how he had treated them in all their years at the school, Draco figured they wouldn't want him back there. Why should they? They most likely wanted a year to get away from him. Even after Harry's testimony that kept his mother and himself from joining his father in Azkaban, he didn't think they would want him to return to the school too.

 _No. I'm going back._ Draco said as he quickly got out of bed and walked to his book bag. _I don't care if they don't want me there, I_ have _to finish my education._

Taking his book bag from the chair, he sat on the floor and dumped out its contents. With his decision reaffirmed to himself, he decided to organize everything he had bought that day in an attempt to make sure he hadn't missed anything from his list.

* * *

The train ride to Hogwarts was just as bad as he had built it up to be in his mind. As he sat in the back corner of the known Slytherin car, Draco could find no solace. With the whispers, glares, and avoidance he received from the other students and his former friends, he had begun to feel more alone than ever before. He was an outcast.

As he stood up to leave the car, everyone around him moved to the side and gasped wildly, as if he were about to place the Cruciatus curse on everyone in the car. Keeping his head lowered to the ground, he headed for the train cars ahead of the one he was in. When he moved, everyone around him moved to the side, as if making any contact with him would equally damn them to isolation as well. Because of this, the trip took him only a few seconds.

As he finally reached one of the many cars that was broken into separate compartments, Draco quickly entered the one closest to his right without lifting his head or seeing if it was even empty. Closing the door behind him, he kept his hand on the door handle and pressed his forehead against the cool glass, happy to have some sort of barrier between him and the other students.

After a few moments of silence, he left the door and walked over to the bench on his right. With his knees drawn to his chest, his arm on the window sill, and his face against the window with his eyes closed, Draco let out an audible sigh in defeat. He had thought he could handle the avoidance and stares from his former classmates, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

It wasn't until he heard slight rustling coming from the bench on the other side of the compartment that he noticed he wasn't alone. Lifting his head and opening his eyes, he saw _her_ sitting in front of him, a shocked but concerned look on her face. Finally looking away from her, Draco's eyes slowly trailed down to what she had been holding in her hands. It was the book, the one he had given up before bolting from the store.

"Granger!" Draco said as he stood up quickly and backed away towards the door. "I didn't realize... I hadn't noticed... I... I'm just going to go..."

"Malfoy, wait! Please..." he heard her say as he opened the compartment door, ready to run away as fast as he could again.

"Please don't go?" she said, more of a question than a statement.

Had he really heard her right? Did she really just ask him to stay? Standing in the doorway with the door halfway open, Draco couldn't make up his mind on what he should do. Should he run? Should he stay? Why did she want him to stay?

After a few moments of silent contemplation, Draco finally made his decision. He was going to stay. He felt as though this was some kind of ploy, a trick to get him vulnerable. He didn't care, though. His emotions were already raw from the whispers, glares, and avoidance from the other students.

After he closed the door and returned to his previous seat across from Hermione's, Draco leaned his head against the glass once more and sighed inwardly.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Hello hello! As promised for weekly updates, here is chapter 4 of Their Final Year! Since this chapter is so short (sorry!) I've also decided to post chapter 5 as well, that way there's a bit more for you guys to read! Thank you so so SO much for your reviews, guys! Please keep reviewing, and definitely be honest with your reviews! If you like something, or don't like something, let me know!


	5. Chapter 5

_Authors note:_ All characters and places in this story belong to JK Rowling and only her. I own absolutely nothing!

* * *

Trying her best not to focus on the person in front of her, Hermione looked out the window of the train car in silence. After their conversations, she wasn't sure what to say anymore, if anything. As she sat there looking out the window, she saw the silhouette of the castle slowly coming into view.

Registering that they were close to Hogwarts, Hermione sighed inwards, sad that her and Draco's time had come to an end. She didn't want it to end, but it was inevitable with where they were at. Turning her attention away from the window and towards her companion, she sighed again.

"Looks like we're almost there," she said as she stood up. "I suppose I better go."

She stood in front of him for a few moments, unsure if he had heard her. Deciding he might have fallen asleep, she turned on her heels and headed for the door of the compartment they shared. Just as she was about to open the door, Draco spoke up.

"Thanks for the chat... Hermione." he said after he had lifted his head in her direction.

"You're welcome, and same to you, Draco." Hermione replied without turning around to face him. She felt strange using his first name, but after their conversation, calling him Malfoy didn't seem right either. Exiting the compartment, she noticed all of the students in the area looked at her strangely, as if they couldn't believe she had been talking to _the outcast_. Hermione didn't care, though. She had enjoyed the conversations her and Draco had shared.

As she headed back to the compartment she had shared with Ron, Harry, and Ginny, Hermione watched her feet instead of where she was going. She knew the train well enough that she didn't need to worry about losing her way. Only lifting her head once she found the appropriate compartment, she saw that her three friends had woken up.

Entering the compartment, Hermione masked any worry she had about leaving them when they were sleeping with a smile. It appeared, however, that her worry was unnecessary. They had all woken up just a few minutes before she entered the compartment, so they assumed she had left to use the restroom.

Sitting down in her original place next to Ron, she looked out the window once more and saw the castle was only a few minutes away now. Mentioning that to her companions, they all crowded around the two small windows and looked for themselves.

Excitement soon filled their small, shared compartment as they talked about the coming school year. Ginny was excited for Quidditch and couldn't wait for tryouts; Ron didn't want to take Potions again and wanted out of it somehow where Harry was excited for another Potions class; and Hermione could only talk about the library, her favorite place.

* * *

Following the crowd as they headed to the Great Hall, Hermione and her friends all looked forward to the sorting ceremony of first years and their first dinner of the new school year. When they entered the Great Hall, they saw everything was as they had remembered it to be. The bewitched ceiling portrayed a deep blue sky filled with stars and little to no clouds, candles floating a few feet above the tables, each house divided by tables, everything was as it should be. The only difference was McGonagall was now the Headmistress.

Hermione, upon reading their letter for the new year, had imagined most all of the former students would be joining them again for another year at Hogwarts, but she had been wrong. The house tables were a lot shorter than they had been in previous years, showing that many had decided against returning. There also weren't very many new students that year either.

After finding a place big enough for the four of them to sit across from each other at the Gryffindor table, Hermione looked around at the other tables across for theirs. Hufflepuff seemed to be the house with the most returning students, where Slytherin had the least. When she looked at the Slytherin table, she noticed that only 12 seventh year students, including Draco, had returned. There were only 20 sixth and fifth year students and the rest of the small group belonged to second to fourth years, as the first years still had yet to be sorted to their houses.

When her eyes came across Draco, Hermione began thinking about their conversations earlier. _Why had he been so nice to me? Why did he decide to stay? Were his answers honest?_ It wasn't until Draco looked up, directly at her, that she realized she had been staring at him. Quickly returning her attention on McGonagall, she had hoped he didn't see her staring at him or notice the small blush that quickly filled her cheeks.

Thankfully, Harry, Ginny, and Ron had kept their attention on their new Headmistress so they didn't notice her staring at Draco. She didn't know what she would have said if they had caught her. She especially didn't want to think about how Ron would have reacted if he saw her staring at his number one enemy.

Finding her hand on the table, Ron turned his attention away from McGonagall and smiled at her. Her face still held some of the blush from nearly being caught by Draco, but thankfully Ron had thought he was the cause. Squeezing her hand before dropping it again, Ron then turned his attention back to their Headmistress.

* * *

Completely exhausted from all of the excitement that day, Hermione decided to turn in early after finishing her small meal. Giving Ron a kiss on the cheek and saying goodnight to the others, Hermione stood up and quickly glanced in Draco's direction. To her surprise, he had been watching her and they made eye contact. Hurt and anger marked Draco and she could feel it pouring into her from his eyes.

Deciding that standing there watching Draco any longer may bring suspicion from her friends, Hermione quickly walked out of the Great Hall, her eyes locked in front of her. It took everything she had to not run out of the room. Turning the corner after she exited the Great Hall, Hermione broke into a run. She wasn't sure what she was running from but she just felt as though she needed to put as much space between her and that room as possible.

Finally making it to the Girls Dorm in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione quickly changed and lied down in bed, still trying to catch her breath. As she lied there, her mind raced around Draco once more. _Why was there such a sad look in his eyes?_ She wondered as she turned to lay on her side. _More importantly, why had he been staring at me in the first place?_

That last question embarrassed her. After all, she was the one who had purposefully been looking for him after sitting at her table. She had been the one to stare at him in the first place, so why had it bothered her that he did the same?

Putting her mind to rest after deciding she wouldn't know the answer to her questions, Hermione flopped around in bed until she found a comfortable position on her right side. With her legs drawn near her chest and her arms draped between her knees, she drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Chapter 5! I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the previous ones! In this chapter, we see a little bit more of Hermione and Draco interacting with each other, and something they talk about changes how they view each other, leading them to use first names rather than their surnames. Seems as though they have found some mutual ground!

As usual, review review review! Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope you guys are in for the long haul! So far, I have nearly 13,000 words written for this book, which is only 9-10 chapters so far. I'm hoping this will be a 30+ chapter story, one that's nice and long, but not too long to where people get bored. Personally, I love what I've written, but it's important that you all do as well.

Again, thanks for reading guys! ~ NinjaDays


	6. Chapter 6

After dinner had finished Draco made his way to the Slytherin Common room and lied in bed, trying to comprehend the day's events. He couldn't understand why Hermione had acted so nice towards him during the train ride to Hogwarts, nor could he understand why she had been staring at him just before dinner.

The thing that had him the most confused was the blush that played across her cheeks as she quickly turned her head away when he had caught her staring at him. The questioning look in her eyes confused him as well. The way she had acted made him think she thought he didn't catch her staring, but he had indeed.

The fact that she had been staring at him with such curiosity in her eyes was confusing enough, but the blush when she quickly turned away was the most confusing thing of all. Why had she reacted in such a way? Was it because he had caught her staring at him?

When Draco had looked up in her direction as she was about to leave, he caught the moment where she had kissed Ron. He hated that Weasley boy, but seeing her kiss him, even if it was just a kiss on the cheek, made him feel like he had been punched repeatedly in the stomach. It physically made him sick to see them together, something he found out during the war.

Mentally exhausted from everything that had happened that day, Draco had to resort to Occulomency to stop his mind from thinking so he could fall asleep. Whenever he used Occulomency to sleep, he never dreamed. Like those other nights, his mind was completely empty as he slept.

* * *

Draco's classes weren't quite as bad as he expected them to be. With the initial shock of his return finally wearing off from the other students, the whispers had stopped. The avoidance and glares continued on, but he had expected as much. There were a few of his classes that he enjoyed, though. Those classes were shared with Hermione, of course. At least, for those few classes, he knew he had someone that didn't completely hate him if the need for partners arose.

To avoid the other students in his classes, Draco found himself sitting in the back corner of the class to stay as far away from everyone as possible. He knew there would be no way to avoid everyone all the time, but by sitting in the back, he could at least avoid them for a short period of time while their attention was on the Professor.

Potions class was a different story all together. In the beginning, Potions had been his favorite class. However, this year, he dreaded Potions all together. He shared the class with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. The Hermione part he didn't mind; it was the fact that both Ron and Harry were there as well that made him hate his once beloved class.

As he sat in the back, attempting to keep his attention focused on Professor Slughorn and not the curly-haired girl in front of him, Draco couldn't concentrate. His mind kept going back to the girl he now sat behind instead of his work. It was when Slughorn had called out his name that Draco's attention finally came back.

"Draco Malfoy?" Slughorn had said while bobbing his head around, searching for Draco.

"Uhm, yes?" he replied as he stood up so his Professor could find him.

Walking next to Harry's desk, Professor Slughorn continued to address him, "I noticed that both you and Harry here have no partners for today's assignment," Patting Harry's desk, Slughorn looked at Draco quizzically. "Would you mind moving to his desk so you could work together?"

"Sure..." Draco quickly replied as he gathered all of his things and moved to the empty space next to Harry.

 _This ought to be interesting..._ Draco silently thought to himself as he sat down next to his previous enemy. Once everyone's attention had returned to the Professor, Draco sighed inwardly. He silently wished he could just work alone for the day, but apparently Slughorn had different ideas.

Once everyone had received their instructions on which potion they would be brewing for the class, Draco and Harry began working in complete silence. With the book positioned between the two of them, they both crushed and chopped the ingredients while the enchanted cauldron stirred itself.

Adding the last ingredient to their potion and seeing the green smoke that indicated they completed it correctly, Draco leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, keeping his attention focused on the potion in front of them. It had been an awkward class period and he could tell Harry had felt the same.

"So, uhm... Good work, Malfoy..." Harry piped up after Professor Slughorn had given them 10 house points each for their potion and dismissed class.

Standing up while gathering his things, Draco only grunted in reply. Once everything was in his bag again, he turned around and left the class quickly, glad that the first day had concluded.

As Draco exited the dungeons from his Potions class, he decided to go outside to the lake instead of to dinner. He knew missing dinner wasn't exactly the best thing for him, but he didn't care. Knowing none of the other students would even notice his absence from dinner, he took his chances with the teachers and left the school grounds. Closing the castle doors behind himself, Draco sighed.

Standing with his back against the doors for a few moments, he tried to forget being partnered up with Potter and continued his journey to the lake. Unsure of why he had wanted to visit the lake in the first place, Draco shrugged off any apprehension he held about going and trudged forward.

Draco walked slowly down the last hill towards the lake, he soon began to overheat a bit. He figured it would be hot outside, but not nearly as hot as it was at that time of day. Taking his cloak and sweater off, Draco reached the lakes edge and continued forward along the shoreline. As his eyes trailed a small pebble he had just kicked, he noticed a small nook in the lakes edge to his right.

Determining this would be the best place for him to stay for the afternoon, he walked in front of a large oak tree stationed next to the lake and sat down. With his knees drawn up and his back against the trunk of the tree, Draco emptied his bag and began to work on the three chapters assigned to him for Herbology class.

* * *

Upon completing the assigned Herbology work for the day, Draco looked up and noticed the sun had set fully. Worrying that he had lost track of time and would be reprimanded for being outside the castle after hours, he quickly gathered his things and ran back to the castle. As he threw on his sweater and cloak, Draco wondered just how long he had actually been beside the lake. He didn't think he had been out that long, but the view around him told him differently.

Huffing like mad as he reached the top of the last hill, he decided it would be best to slow his pace and catch his breath before entering the castle once more. As he reached the castle doors, Draco's breath had returned to normal and it appeared he had only gone for a brisk walk around the castle grounds.

Entering the castle once more, Draco noticed it wasn't actually as late as he previously thought. Students flooded the walkway and chatted amongst themselves which showed dinner had just concluded. Draco had only been out near the lake for only about an hour and a half, but with the stark difference in light, he assumed he was out for hours.

Blending seamlessly with the crowd of students heading to the Slytherin common room, Draco's suspicions had indeed been correct. None of his housemates had noticed he was missing from dinner, which had been in his favor.

* * *

Once Draco had changed into his bed robes and lied down for the night, he decided to continue working on his school work while his housemates sat in the Common Room. Ignoring the muffled laughs and chatter, Draco quickly worked through all of his assignments that were due either tomorrow or the day after.

Two short hours passed as Draco worked silently in the dark room with only his wand to illuminate his work. As the other Slytherins began piling in and filled the previously empty beds beside him, Draco smiled at himself.

Considering his work complete for the night, Draco flicked his wand to deluminate it. After turning around to adjust his pillows to the position he preferred, he slid under the covers, satisfied with himself for having all his assigned work completed.

As he lied in bed, curled up on his left side with his knees drawn towards his chest, Draco shut his mind off before it could return to contemplating about Potions class. With his mind at rest, he slowly began to delve into a peaceful sleep. That night, Draco dreamt about the possibilities this new year held for him and what each possibility meant to him.

* * *

 _Authors Note:_ Chapter 6 has arrived! I hope you all like this one, and I cannot wait until next week. Chapter 7 is one of my favorites! As usual, review review review!

 _Authors note (12/02):_ While I was writing the newest chapter for this story (it's a long ways away, don't get too excited) I wrote a scene that had my heart beating really fast. Because of that scene, I've decided to change the rating of this story from K+ to M. Don't worry, if you don't like heavy adult scenes, there won't be any in this story. However, that being said, there will be some not-so-kid-friendly scenes here and there and I think it deserves to have the rating upped a bit. Because of this, I warn you, if you don't like any "heavy" scenes please do not continue in this story.

Reviews are always wonderful and amazingly appreciated! I wanted to thank those of you who have reviewed so far, and I wanted to apologize for it taking me so long to read your reviews and to thank you for them!


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione startled herself awake, jolting up into a sitting position as she tried to catch her breath. Her dream hadn't been much of a nightmare, but it still had frightened her enough to wake her up. She had dreamt of a future where she and Ron were unhappily wed. Fighting constantly with three young children as frightened witnesses, the things that had been said between herself and Ron were awful. The accusations coming from him concerning Draco, someone she hadn't even thought of since their final year at Hogwarts, were what had startled her the most. She never thought Ron could be so suspicious, so awful towards her.

Shutting her mind off from the dream, Hermione lied back down and tried to go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for what seemed like an eternity, she came to the realization that she wouldn't be able to return to sleep for the day. Tiptoeing through the room so she wouldn't wake any of the other Gryffindor girls she shared the Dormitory with, Hermione headed towards the Common Room.

Hermione noticed she was the only one awake as she sat down on one of the couches in front of the fireplace in the Common Room. Leaning back against the sofa and closing her eyes, the dream replayed in her mind's eye once again. She could see Ron's face contorted in anger, their children's eyes filling with tears, and she could feel her own face becoming hot with anger and frustration.

Shaking her head as she leaned forward and stood up, Hermione attempted to clear her mind of the dream once more. Without thinking about it, she found herself heading towards the Girls Dorm again. Deciding to take a shower to help clear the dream away, Hermione tiptoed to her bed, quickly changed clothes, grabbed a towel and the assorted items she'd need, and tiptoed back to the stairs.

Exiting the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione noticed there were a lot more students awake than she had previously thought there would be so early in the morning. Nodding her head and politely saying hello to the students she passed on her way to the third floor, Hermione continued to keep her mind from returning to the dream. Reaching the unused bathroom on the third floor, she quickly undressed and stepped into the steaming hot shower.

Once out of the shower, Hermione dried herself off, put on her robes for the day, and attempted to tame her wild hair. She'd gotten some new products from her mother that she hadn't had the time to try out until now, so she was excited. Smoothing the products into her hair and styling it to the best she could, she looked into the mirror to inspect her work. Her hair was no longer frizzy, her wild curls tamed into submission. Hermione hoped against hope that it wasn't simply because it was still wet, as she quite liked the way she looked with nice, smooth curls.

Exiting the bathroom, Hermione made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She passed a quite a few people in the corridors, mainly third and second years. Along her way she had to scold a group of first years for playing Exploding Snap in the hallway. Even though she wasn't a prefect (she'd turned the opportunity down this year) she did still have some authority, as everyone knew she was one of The Golden Trio.

Hermione had finally made her way to the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. After her dream last night, she didn't feel all that hungry, so all she grabbed was a bagel and a few pieces of bacon. Hermione sat munching on a piece of bacon, lost in thought, staring ahead of her. Little did she know she happened to be staring in the direction of Draco, no one in front of her to obscure her view. Draco sat, staring back at her with an odd look on his face, completely perplexed as to why she was staring at him in the first place.

"EARTH TO HERMIONE!" Ron said, waving his hand in front of her face.

Finally snapping out of her trance, Hermione realized she had been staring at Draco, her bacon lost on the table. Looking around, she noticed the Great Hall had filled with people and her friends had joined her at the table. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was thinking too much."

"When aren't you?" Ginny giggled.

"Ha. Ha" Hermione returned, picking up her bacon to resume eating.

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

She turned to her left and looked at Ron. "Of course."

"Well, why exactly were you staring at Draco just now?"

"In all honesty, it was completely unintentional. I had been thinking about my schoolwork and I suppose I had been staring ahead of me. It was completely circumstantial that Draco happened to be in front of me, is all."

Ron just stared at her for a few seconds. Seeming to accept her explanation, he turned to his food once more. For the remainder of breakfast, the four of them sat in silence, all contemplating the day's classes. It had been two weeks since the school year had started, but they were still getting used to their schedules. Their last period was double potions with the Slytherins again, a class which everyone but Hermione had been dreading.

* * *

"I hope I don't get paired with _him_ again today," Harry said as he, Hermione and Ron made their way to the dungeons for their double potions class. "I mean, he does good work, but it was so awkward being his partner."

"I can't believe you even made it through the period without killing him," Ron said.

"Come on, Ron. He may have been a massive jerk while we were in school, but his mum is the reason I am alive, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," replied Ron, waving his hand in dismissal. "I still hate him, though."

Hermione just stayed quiet. After all, she knew things about Draco that the others didn't, and she knew she couldn't say anything about it. Saying something would mean risking her best friend and her boyfriend knowing she had spent time alone with him, and she certainly couldn't have that.

The three of them finally made it to the classroom door, but as they were early, the classroom wasn't open yet. Ron and Harry stood against the wall, talking about Quidditch while Hermione sat on the floor, her potions book open in her lap. Without warning, the light she had been using to read by had become obscured. Looking up, she found herself looking at Draco, who was standing above her, looking down on her. He didn't say anything, just stood there and stared silently.

A few seconds later the door to the Potions classroom opened and Slughorn greeted them all, inviting them inside. Putting her book back into her bag, Hermione stood, trying not to stumble as Draco stood in front of her. As she passed, she heard a whisper come from the blonde haired boy, one that made her blush. She tried her best to hide it as she walked into the classroom, at that moment thankful Ron and Harry had been too preoccupied with their conversation to notice.

By the time Hermione sat down at her usual place, Ron to her left and Harry across the way next to Ron, the blush had fully faded away, Ron never the wiser. As Slughorn explained the potion they would be working on, in groups of two again, Hermione's mind was elsewhere. She couldn't concentrate on his words as other words continued to ring through her mind.

 _Your hair looks nice today_. It was what Draco had whispered to her as she walked passed him to enter their classroom. _Your hair looks nice today._ It was a totally unexpected compliment, coming from the last person she had ever expected. _Your hair looks nice today._ He was the only person to seemingly notice the work she had put into her hair today. Or, at least, the only person to say something about it.

"Miss Granger?"

Suddenly jerked away from her thoughts, Hermione had heard Slughorn say her name. Thankfully he hadn't caught the attention of her classmates, as he was standing beside her table, speaking softly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Did you catch that I said to begin working with your partner on the potion now?"

"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione said, embarrassed she had been so lost in thought. "I must have been thinking too hard to have heard you."

"Well, go ahead and begin." Slughorn turned away from her desk. "Don't let it happen again," he said as he began heading back to his desk.

Hermione had been so consumed in what Draco had said to her that she hadn't even realized everyone had switched places and began their work. Turning to her left, she found herself staring at the top of a very blonde head. At the beginning of class, she expected she'd have a partner outside her own house, but she had never expected it to be Draco.

"Let's get started," Draco said, his head still down.

"Yeah, okay."

For the first twenty minutes of class, the two of them worked in silence, the slight chatter of their classmates surrounding them. To Hermione's great surprise, the two of them worked very well together. She wasn't sure why this was such a surprise to her, as Draco had always had marks very close to her own. Hermione supposed she always thought, at least for Potions, that Snape had always pushed his grades up.

There seemed to be this unspoken understanding between the two of them that Hermione admired. They didn't need to assign roles between them, nor did they have to decide who did what. Draco and herself just automatically knew what each other should work on, never having to say. They worked in perfect harmony, chopping, crushing, and adding ingredients exactly as the instructions said to.

Unable to help herself anymore, Hermione spoke up. "Um, Draco…?"

"Mmm," Draco mumbled, keeping his concentration on cutting the boomslang skin into equal portions.

"I just wanted to, um…" Hermione paused, unsure if she should continue after all.

"Just wanted to….?" Draco urged her to continue.

Hermione sighed. "Just wanted to say thank you for your complement earlier. It… It meant a lot."

Draco put his knife down and looked at Hermione, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said," Hermione replied, blushing. "It meant a lot to me."

"Figured with you dating the Weasel… Ouch!" Draco cried out, as Hermione had punched him, quite hard, on his arm. "Okay, okay, Weasley, that you'd be used to those by now."

"Well, for your information, Ron and I aren't very keen on complementing each other. We have better things to do."

Draco turned back to the boomslang skin without another word, and Hermione continued stirring their potion, three times clockwise, one time counter clockwise. Minutes passed them in silence again as Draco added more ingredients and Hermione stirred.

Hermione sighed once more. "Look, I'm sorry for getting snippy. Just, thank you for the complement."

"You're welcome."

Draco added the final ingredient, and after the final counter clockwise stir, the potion turned emerald green and a puff of blue smoke in the shape of a tree billowed out, signifying their potion was complete and absolutely perfect. Professor Slughorn came to their table to inspect their work, noting its perfection, and gave them each 20 points for their houses.

Hermione and Draco had finished their potion with two hours left of class, far ahead of everyone else. Hermione picked up her Potions book once more, and Draco sat with his arms on the table, his head buried in them.

"Hey Draco?"

"Mmm?" He replied, not lifting his head from the table.

"Since we still have a few hours of class left, why don't we do another potion, for some extra credit work?"

Draco turned his head to look at her, not lifting it from his arms. "Depends, what potion did you have in mind?"

"What about this one? If we get started now, it should be done by the end of class. Plus, with our combined skills, it should be easy enough."

Draco lifted his head to see what potion Hermione had in mind. "Potion for Dreamless Sleep, huh?"

"Yeah…" Hermione looked away embarrassed.

"Hey, don't worry," Draco said, putting his arms up in an 'I give up' manner. "I'm not about to ask any questions about it. In fact, I understand completely."

"You do?" Hermione asked, sheepishly, her head still down, facing their desk.

"Yeah, I do…" Draco said with a sigh.

Unexpectedly, Draco raised his hand and caught the attention of Professor Slughorn. Finally making his way over to their desk, Draco asked him about the two of them making the Potion for Dreamless Sleep and if it would be okay for them to take the potion with them once class was finished. For a few moments, Slughorn simply looked between the two, perplexed as to their reasoning, but understanding anyway. Professor Slughorn nodded, then walked away as someone had called for his attention.

Being given the okay to start, Hermione wrote down the list of ingredients they would need and made her way to the student store cupboard while Draco prepared a new cauldron. Harry met her at the store cupboard, pretending to need something for his potion.

"Hey, Hermione."

"Oh, hi Harry." Hermione said with a smile.

"So, you and Draco seem to be enjoying yourselves over there."

"W-what?" Hermione stammered, slightly blushing at the overt carelessness which Harry had said that. "We're just working."

"I know, I'm only joking. Ron hasn't kept his eyes off the two of you, though. Keeps mumbling about killing the 'no good Malfoy' or something." He shrugged. "I don't know, I stopped paying attention to what Ron said ages ago. Just know he might have an attitude after class."

 _Great, just what I needed today,_ Hermione thought as she nodded a reply to Harry and continued to gather potion ingredients. She supposed she was going to have to talk to Ron after class, but she wasn't in the mood for a fight, especially over something as trivial as Potions Class.

Hermione made her way back to her desk where Draco sat waiting, his head back in his arms on the desk again. He made no effort to move when she sat down, nor did he respond when she said his name. At that moment she figured he was asleep, so she decided to work on the potion on her own rather than waking him up.

Draco soon shifted in his sleep, his right arm sliding off the table and landing on Hermione's left thigh. Startled, she had completely stopped moving, both hands up in the air as she had been about to add the porcupine quills to the potion. Hermione didn't know what to do. She was nervous about waking him up, but she also didn't want to leave his hand on such an intimate place for her.

Thankfully for Hermione, a loud bang happened a few moments after Draco's hand had landed on her thigh, waking him. Apparently Professor Slughorn had knocked into a few extra cauldrons while returning to his desk, which sent them cascading to the floor. It took Draco a few seconds to come to his senses and fully wake up.

"Um, Draco?"

"Yes, Gra-… Er, Hermione?"

"Would you mind moving your hand from my thigh?" She said, no more than a whisper, afraid that if she said it any louder someone else might hear her.

Draco looked down, unaware of what she was talking about. It was then that he noticed his hand was, indeed, placed on her thigh. He jerked his hand away suddenly, as if burned by something, and began rubbing his hand with the other. Hermione just sat and looked at him, a small blush on her cheeks.

The two of them sat in silence for the remainder of class, working on their potion. Once completed, Professor Slughorn came, inspected their work, awarded them each an additional 10 points for their houses, and then spooned the potion into vials, separating it equally between the two of them.

With five minutes remaining of their double Potions period, everyone began shuffling around, packing their bags and returning to their original seats. Neither Hermione nor Draco said a word to each other as Draco got out of the desk, grabbed his book and wand, and returned to his seat at the back of the class.

When Ron returned to his seat next to Hermione, he didn't say a word to her, either. He didn't even look at her. From what Harry had told her, he was upset, but she never imagined it be to this extent.

"Well, class, off with you! Go enjoy your dinner!" Slughorn announced, with a flourish of his arms.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Chapter 7 has arrived! So far, this is the longest chapter I've written and posted here, and I hope you guys enjoy it! It was a fun chapter to write, and it's one of my personal favorites.

As always, Review Review Review!


	8. Chapter 8

_Hogwarts, its characters and affiliates all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I own nothing!_

* * *

All throughout dinner, Draco could only concentrate on what had happened during the day. He picked at the food on his plate as he remembered breakfast, where he had caught Hermione staring at him. _Why was she staring at me like that,_ he asked himself at the time, knowing he wouldn't get the answer. At first it had seemed as though she had been staring on purpose, but after a few minutes, Draco had realized she was simply lost in thought, her eyes unfocused on the world in front of her.

His thoughts then turned to lunch, where he'd sat in his usual place, conveniently opposite Hermione's on the other side of the Great Hall. This time it was he who stared at her, watching her movements, the way she laughed and how delicately she ate. It was during lunch that he realized that her hair had looked so nice, so much smoother and less frizzy than normal. Draco didn't know why he'd become so fixated on her, learning her and her mannerisms. He blamed it on the conversation the two of them shared on the train before the year began, but there was a very small voice in his head that disagreed.

Draco's thoughts finally turned to his double Potions lesson of the day, the class just before dinner. When he arrived in the dungeon hallway, he found the Gryffindor's waiting outside the closed door, with Hermione off to one side reading. He had no idea what had compelled him to her, but before he knew what happened he was standing above her, looking down. As Slughorn ushered them into his class, he whispered "Your hair looks nice today" in Hermione's ear as she passed without even thinking it.

Draco hadn't planned on standing over her, let alone speaking his mind about her hair, yet his actions seemed beyond his control. It was as if he couldn't control himself around her in those moments.

When Professor Slughorn went over the potion they would be making, then named off the classes pairs for the day, Draco was shocked to hear he would be partnered with Hermione. In that moment, every eye fell on him and her alike, yet Hermione made no movements. It seemed as though she hadn't heard or just didn't care. At her complete lack of caring about her partner, everyone soon lost interest on the two of them and began shifting places.

Once Ron had, reluctantly, moved from his seat, Draco slowly made his way over to Hermione's side. Even when he sat down and opened his book, she still didn't react or move at all. It was only when Professor Slughorn came to her other side was he able to snap her out of her stupor. Wanting to avoid eye contact with her, Draco bowed his head to his book, reading over the potion they would be making that day.

At first they worked in silence, but soon Hermione said something that took Draco aback. Only in his wildest dreams did he imagine she would speak up and thank him for the compliment. It was the most they had said to each other since the train ride, and it made Draco's insides flip in a very uncomfortable manner. He wasn't sure why, but when she thanked him, he suddenly began acting like his old self, defensive and insulting. He hadn't meant to be so rude to her, it was just a reflex he supposed. Thankfully she brushed his brashness off like it was nothing, apologized for her rudeness, and thanked him again. This time he decided a simple "You're welcome" would suffice.

When Hermione had suggested they work on another potion rather than doing nothing for the remainder of class, Draco had been both excited yet unimpressed at her work ethic. Since he hadn't gotten much of any sleep that night, he was exhausted and had looked forward to sleeping for the rest of the period. Upon seeing the potion she had in mind, his thoughts again shifted. If Slughorn allowed them to keep the potion once completed, he would be able to get a few good night's rest.

Determined to be able to get that much needed sleep, he put his pride aside and asked Slughorn himself if they could create the potion then keep it. He knew that if he was the one to ask Slughorn, there was a very good chance he would allow them to. Once Hermione had gotten up to get the ingredients they would need, Draco's exhaustion hit him hard, and he fell asleep at almost the exact moment his head touched his arms.

He had been having a wonderful dream, a dream which he would be too embarrassed to explain out loud when the cauldrons crashed to the floor, startling him awake. It took him a few moments to wake up and realize where he was, and it wasn't until Hermione asked, in such a small voice he almost didn't hear her, to move his hand from her thigh that he noticed the warmth seeping into his palm. Draco hadn't intended on taking his hand away from her thigh as fast as he had, but he nevertheless took it away so fast he was sure she would think he didn't want to touch her.

It wasn't until he caught the small blush playing across Hermione's cheeks that he realized her thoughts hadn't gone there at all. The blush definitely signified something, but what that was, Draco didn't know. He didn't know what to say after what had happened, so the two of them just sat, working in silence for the remainder of the period.

Refocusing his attention from his thoughts of class back to dinner, he looked up from his plate. Not much time had passed, so the Great Hall was still fairly full of other students, all chatting loudly and excitedly. Draco sat, alone, at the end of the Slytherin table. He was used to sitting alone during meals, as his old friends were either dead or in Azkaban, and none of the younger students wanted anything to do with him.

After Draco had looked around at the other tables, his eyes finally fell on the Gryffindor table across the hall and to Hermione. At that moment, Hermione had been looking at him, too, so they're eyes instantly met. The two of them sat like this for what seemed like ages until her attention was pulled away by the redheaded Weasley boy, her boyfriend, who kissed Hermione on the cheek to her dismay and disgust with a mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Draco didn't have an appetite any longer after catching that display, so he decided it was time to get started on his homework for the day. He exited the Great Hall, went down in the dungeons to the Slytherin Dormitory, grabbed his bag and books, and headed up to the library. He found the silence of the library more tolerable that the uncomfortable silence that always followed him in the Slytherin Common Room, so he found himself there more and more lately.

The halls were deserted as he made his way to the library, as everyone else could be found in the Great Hall still finishing up dinner. Draco was happier that way. He had no stares, no whispers, no funny looks or laughing to worry about when the halls were empty. He took his time to get there, relishing in the complete silence the castle offered him.

When he reached the library and pulled the doors open, Madame Pince welcomed him with a warm smile. Draco returned the smile and made his way to his normal spot in the very back corner. Draco began working on his homework assigned for the day, starting with Transfiguration.

Soon, other students began trickling into the library for some after dinner work, so the complete silence was replaced with a small, dull chatter. Draco was so into completing his essay for Arithromancy that he hadn't noticed the students or the chatter at all. It wasn't until the small sound of a throat clearing above his head did he finally tear his attention away from his work.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Professor?" Draco said as he looked up at McGonagall, Hogwarts' new Headmistress this year and long standing Transfiguration professor.

"Would you come with me, please?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said as he began rolling his parchment up and gathering his books.

Draco's mind ran wildly as he followed McGonagall through the winding hallways of the castle, no idea where they were headed. He tried his hardest to remember if he had done something wrong, something to cause himself to get into trouble. As far as he could recall, he'd kept his head down, kept himself quiet, and did all of the work his teachers assigned him.

Draco finally decided to speak up as they continued to their unknown destination. "Professor?"

"Yes, Draco?"

"Am I in trouble?"

A small smile played across Professor McGonagall's lips, unbeknownst to Draco. "No, you're not in any sort of trouble. I will explain why I've gathered you soon."

The continued along the corridor in silence, only the sound of their shoes on the floor could be heard. To Draco's confusion, they had not run into any other students during their journey, which made him wonder where everyone could be.

Soon McGonagall stopped in front of a gargoyle statue, Draco close behind her. He heard her say the password "licorice snap" and the gargoyle leapt to the side, a winding staircase beginning to travel upward was found behind it. Draco knew this to be the Headmaster's office from his previous years, though he had never actually been inside. It surprised even him, what with all the trouble he had gotten into in his youth, that this would be his first time inside this office.

Once at the top of the stairs, McGonagall opened the door to the office and ushered Draco inside. It was a fairly large room, quite barren, without much along the walls except portraits of all previous headmasters. Dumbledore's portrait sat directly behind the chair to the desk, looking out above what was previously his office, with Dumbledore himself smiling down at young Draco. Looking around a bit he noticed, on a few tables scattered here and there, were random objects and funny looking items.

McGonagall made her way to her desk across the room as Draco stood at the door, taking the office in. "Come, Draco, sit." He heard McGonagall say, as she motioned to one of two chairs on the other side of her desk.

It wasn't until Draco had sat down in his chair that he noticed the chair next to him was occupied. Who else could it be but Hermione, sitting patiently, watching him, waiting for him to sit so they could learn why they had been asked to the Headmistress's office.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Hurray! Chapter 8 is here! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it was fun to write. It's shorter than the last, but runs about the same as the previous ones.

I'd like to thank you all for the amazing reviews so far! When I first started this story, I never imagined it would be as popular as it is, and it's all because of you guys! You're all so awesome!

Well, ta-ta for now, we'll see you next week for Chapter 9!


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione wasn't quite sure why she had continued to look for and look at Draco as they sat down to dinner, but once again her eyes had traveled to the Slytherin table and the blond haired boy across the Great Hall. As her eyes had reached him, he looked up and their eyes met. Hermione felt frozen in time, lost within the silver of Draco's eyes.

For what seemed like forever, the two just sat and stared at each other, almost as if they were looking deep into each other's souls. It had only been a few seconds in reality, but it was long enough for Hermione to recognize the way her stomach tightened when he looked at her.

Ron pulled her attention away from Draco quickly, giving her a peck on the cheek with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Ron, that is absolutely disgusting," Hermione complained as she wiped her cheek with her sleeve. "If you plan on doing that, please make sure you swallow your food first."

"Sorry," Ron replied, a hint of animosity in his voice. "I'll be sure to not do that again."

"Ron, that's not…" Too late. Ron had gotten up and moved further down the table to join his other Gryffindor friends, Seamus and Dean.

Hermione sat in silence, staring at her plate, not touching any of her food. Ron seemed to become more and more angry as of late, and their relationship began falling apart. Before the school year had begun, Ron had been nothing short of clingy, never giving Hermione room to breathe. Now that they were a few weeks into their last year at Hogwarts, Ron had become distant and angry constantly. Outside of their classes, they hadn't spent much time as she would have liked together, what with her almost always in the library and Ron either with his friends or playing Quidditch.

Hermione knew she still loved Ron, very much, but she could feel that love shifting into something different still, as she felt over the summer. She knew that, at some point, she would have to confront Ron about what was happening between the two of them, but she didn't want it to come to that just yet. She knew how Ron got with confrontation, especially with her, and she did not want to cause even more problems between the two of them. For now, Hermione planned to just let things run their course, hoping that things would get better.

Looking up towards the Slytherin table again, she found that Draco was nowhere in sight. He must have gotten up to leave when she wasn't paying attention. Hermione wasn't sure why she had even cared that Draco was no longer in the Great Hall having dinner, but for some reason she was slightly disappointed.

Finding herself full, Hermione said good night to Harry and Ginny, and got up from the table. She made her way over to where Ron was sitting, kissed him on the cheek, said good night to him as well, and left the Great Hall.

* * *

Hermione wasn't really feeling all that tired, so she decided to not actually go to bed, but instead read in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. It wasn't long after she had started reading that the common room began to fill with her fellow Gryffindors, her friends included. Harry, Ron, and Ginny began playing a game of Exploding Snap, to the applause of their classmates and friends and to the great dismay of Hermione.

She had just started reading one of the best chapters, in her opinion, of her favorite book when she was unfortunately interrupted. To her surprise, it wasn't by one of her friends or fellow Gryffindor classmates, but by the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, herself. Hermione put her bookmark into the seam of the pages she was on to save her place, then gave McGonagall all of her attention.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms. Granger, but may I ask for your presence in my office?"

"Yes, of course."

"I imagine you already know where my office is?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes. Harry took Ron and myself there after..."

"Say no more. The password is, 'Licorice Snap'." Turning on her heel, McGonagall added one more thing before heading to the portrait hole. "I will meet you inside shortly."

Confused as to the reasoning behind being called to the Headmistress's office, Hermione sat for a few seconds, deep in thought. She ran every scenario she could think of, but couldn't think of a reasonable, or truthful, reason of why. Deciding sitting there and thinking about it was doing her no good, Hermione got up, ran her book to her dormitory, and returned to the Common Room. Saying a quick goodbye to her friends with a simple explanation of where she was headed, she gave Ron a peck on the cheek, and left Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione saw quite a few schoolmates along the way, but she didn't say anything except "Hello" as she passed them. Her mind was still on the reason as to why McGonagall wanted her to meet her in her office, and also as to why they didn't go there together. _Why did she say she would meet me there?_ She thought as she headed towards the third floor. _What's going on?_

Finally reaching the third floor corridor and the gargoyle statue blocking the entrance to the office, Hermione said the password and slowly walked up the winding staircase. Out of habit, she knocked on the office door before remembering no one would be there when she arrived. Hermione opened the door, and since the ending of the war, entered the office for the first time.

* * *

Hermione was sitting in silence, looking up at Dumbledore's portrait when she heard the office door open and two sets of footsteps enter. She didn't turn around as she would know who would be joining her in just a few short seconds. McGonagall reached her side of the desk swiftly, but the other person still had yet to join them. It wasn't until McGonagall said, "Come, Draco. Sit," that Hermione realized who the other set of footsteps belonged to.

When Draco sat down, Hermione finally turned to acknowledge his presence, with a simple wave and small smile. The three sat in silence for a while, McGonagall staring at the two while the two young students sat staring back. Finally, McGonagall broke the silence.

"So. I'm sure you two wonder why you are here? I'm sorry to pull you two away on such short notice, but this was the only time I was free."

Hermione and Draco nodded a reply, understanding just how time-stricken she must be. Their Headmistress continued.

"I've asked the both of you here this evening to ask for your help. As I'm sure you are well aware, I am being pulled this way and that. To be frank, I'm quite simply at my wits end."

Headmistress McGonagall paused then, looking quite old and exhausted to both Hermione and Draco, though they continued to just sit in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"The help that I ask of you is something I believe you both are completely capable of. I have recently been asked by St. Mungo's for my assistance in helping with creating potions for them as they are extremely understaffed and over burdened by patients from the war. As you both know, I'm not one for potions myself, so I, in turn, asked Professor Slughorn for his help. Unfortunately, he declined."

McGonagall paused yet again, lifting her glasses and rubbing her weary eyes.

"That's where you two come in," she continued. "After declining to help, Professor Slughorn shared with me just how well the two of you work together and how much you both excel in your Potions lessons. I only ask you this: Will the two of you be willing to work together in creating potions for St. Mungo's?"

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, confusion marking Draco's eyes, where Hermione's were lit with excitement. Turning back to their Headmistress, she continued yet again.

"If you both agree, you will no longer be required to join your fellow classmates in your Potions lessons. I will give the two of you full marks for that class in exchange for your help, as well as write off your Potions NEWT as passed."

Without a second thought, Hermione spoke up.

"Yes, yes of course! I would be glad to help!"

"Thank you, Hermione." McGonagall and Hermione both then turned to Draco, anxious for his reply.

"Well, since Hermione already agreed, I suppose I have no choice on the matter."

At that moment, a warmth spread through Headmistress McGonagall's face, lighting it with a smile. The weary and tired look about her eyes vanished, replaced with gratefulness and cheer. Hermione also lit up with a smile as she continued to look at Draco, who turned away quickly, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I, and I'm sure St. Mungo's patients as well, thank you very much. I would appreciate it if you would kept this between the three of us. I will write to them immediately and let them know we can help them with their needs. In the meantime, while we wait for their reply, and, I imagine their list of needed potions, all you need to do is continue your usual schedule. Once I receive that reply, I will again call on you both."

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Chapter 9 has arrived! In this chapter we learn just why Draco and Hermione had been summoned to McGonagall's office. If I stole a plot bunny, I sincerely didn't mean to! I've been working on this story for around 2 years now, so I honestly didn't intend to, so please don't hate me!

Since this is a holiday week, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas! I hope this week is wonderful for you all!

As usual, reviews are always awesome and welcome!


	10. Chapter 10

For the next few days, nothing substantial had happened to Draco. Classes had all been normal, meals were uneventful and quiet for him, and he was beginning to enjoy the fact that, unless paired with someone in one of his lessons, he spent his time alone. He was finally liking the fact that no one really talked to him, and that everyone simply left him to his own devices. He supposed the shock of his return and his total transformation from his usual, stuck up, arrogant self had worn off.

As the warm summer days became shorter and the weather had begun to cool down, Draco found himself huddled up in the library more and more. During the beginning of the year, he enjoyed doing his work outside next to the lake, but as the weather slowly changed, he gave that up in turn for the quiet warmth of the library.

It was in the library that Draco was working on his Arithromancy homework that she found him. At first, she didn't say anything. Just stood over the table, watching him in silence. It wasn't long before Draco felt like he was being watched and looked up.

"Hermione."

"Hey, Draco."

Hermione continued to stand over him, seemingly thinking over what she was going to say. Finally pulling a chair opposite of Draco's out from the table, Hermione decided to sit down before she continued.

"I-I've been thinking. About what we've been asked to do." Hermione again paused, chewing on her bottom lip.

For a moment, Draco sat, watching her chew on her lip, his thoughts far from what she had been talking about. Quickly realizing where his thoughts were, he shook his head and looked back down at his work, silently scolding himself. Hermione again continued.

"I've been to see Professor McGonagall about it, to ask her a few questions. I wanted to know what to expect with our task."

Closing his book and putting both it and the parchment which he had been writing on aside, Draco crossed his hands and waited for her to continue once again.

"She told me that we will primarily be working during our double Potions lesson, but there may be times when we have to work through dinner and late into the night. She has a classroom ready and waiting for us on the fourth floor, that has everything we could need for potion making. She also, again, reminded me that we need to keep this project as quiet as possible."

At her last statement, Draco scoffed.

"If you haven't noticed already, Granger, I'm not exactly the most popular person in this school."

Hermione looked away from him quickly, both upset and angry at his animosity towards her. Standing up, Hermione prepared to leave without another word. She turned and got a few steps away before turning back again.

"You know, the attitude is completely unnecessary. If you don't want to work with me on this, say something now so I can let McGonagall know I'll do it on my own."

Draco simply sat there, stunned into silence by what he had said. He wasn't sure what exactly had come over himself, and he was afraid to speak again to further upset her. Hermione stood there, her arms crossed at her chest, her weight shifted on one leg with the other out to her side, waiting for him to say something. Recognizing she wasn't going to get an answer, she turned on her heel and left the library in a huff.

* * *

Draco had decided to skip going to the Great Hall for dinner that night, still mad at himself for his attitude towards the only person who acknowledges his existence and treats him nicely. He sat on his four poster bed in the boys' dormitory, thinking and thinking. Draco came to a decision after a few minutes of contemplation, grabbed a spare bit of parchment and his quill, and quickly scribbled a note.

He pulled back the curtains to his bed, put on his cloak, and left the dormitory in a hurry. He wanted to get his note sent off as quickly as possible. Draco hustled his way up through the dungeons, through the main hall, and up the stairs towards the owlery. He came across quite a few students along the way, but they all ignored his presence as usual. Because no one had stopped him, Draco made it to the owlery a lot quicker than he had originally anticipated.

A large brown Barn Owl that belonged to the school swooped down from its perch to where Draco stood. He reread his note, making sure it was worded properly and that he got his message across without making himself out to be a fool.

 _ **I don't know what came over me. I'm still willing**_

 _ **to work on you know what. Forgive me?**_

Satisfied that his message sounded alright and that it said what it needed to without him having to say it outright, Draco tied his note to the school's barn owl and sent it off to deliver it. Slowly, he made his way back down from the owlery, lost in thought, not really paying attention to his surroundings.

Walking through the corridors he knew by heart at this point, Draco kept his head down, watching his feet. He didn't need to watch where he was going to know where he was, nor did he worry about running into anyone as he walked.

Once Draco had made it back to the Slytherin Common Room, he headed straight back to the boys' dormitory and to his four poster bed. He chose to call it a night, pulled off his outer robes and changed into his sleepwear. Climbing into bed, he pulled the curtains closed and quickly dosed off into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

Draco woke the next morning to find the rest of the beds empty. Since it was Saturday, he had nothing important going on that morning, so he stayed in bed. Lying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling, his mind empty. Draco laid like that for about a half hour before he decided it was time to get up and start his day.

Showered and dressed, Draco made his way towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He had slept in for a considerable amount of time, but not too long as to miss breakfast. Since he skipped dinner the previous night, his stomach growled like a lion as he walked up the dungeon stairs.

As he entered the Great Hall, he noticed it was slightly emptier than he anticipated. He figured more students would still be there eating, so the half empty hall came as an initial shock to him. Draco sat down and picked a muffin, some bacon, and some eggs as his breakfast. His head down towards, he hadn't noticed a tawny owl had swooped down and landed beside his seat at the Slytherin Table. It wasn't until the owl nipped his hand that his attention finally fell to the small note attached to its' leg.

 ** _Thank you._**

It was very short, but it did mean quite a lot to Draco. He knew who it was from and what it was about without it needing to be signed or have anything else written. The small, short note meant more to Draco than he had even realized. Instinctively, he looked up and across the Great Hall, looking for the writer of the note.

She wasn't there, of course. She had probably been there earlier to eat, but since it was so late in the morning, she had already left do to something else. Draco was slightly upset at not seeing Hermione's familiar head of curly hair, no longer frizzy due to whatever she had been doing to it. Draco had meant the compliment he gave her that day outside the Potion's classroom. Her hair had looked very nice that day, and every day since.

Not knowing exactly what was coming over himself, Draco silently scolded himself for his thoughts once again. He didn't want to admit it, couldn't admit it, but he was beginning to develop feelings for that Gryffindor girl. He again blamed it on their conversation they had in the train, blamed it on the fact that she was the only person, other than Harry, to give him any sort of attention. Being Draco Malfoy, he had been used to attention from others, especially female Slytherins, during the previous years, so he instantly thought that was the reason behind how he was starting to feel.

Draco had continued to eat his small meal, taking as much time as possible while his thoughts were back on the train ride. Headmistress McGonagall soon appeared at his side and slightly coughed to catch his attention.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly be willing to meet me in my office at 6 this evening?"

"Sure."

"Be sure to bring Ms. Granger with you, as well," McGonagall said as she turned on her heel and began to walk away. "She knows the password. I will meet you two inside."

* * *

As 6 o'clock fast approached, Draco sighed and gathered his things. He had been in the library again, studying as much as he could on various potions to make sure he fully understood just what he had gotten himself into. With his bag over his shoulder, Draco left the library, unsure of where to begin looking for Hermione. Knowing that, unless she was inside the library studying too, she was sure to be with Harry and Weasley.

Draco decided to just walk the corridors, hoping to run into a Gryffindor that he could ask where Hermione was. He hadn't gotten far from the library when he found just who he was looking for: Hermione was doubled over on the corridor floor, picking up books that seemed to have spilled from her bag.

Silently, Draco walked to her side, bent down, and began to help her pick up her things. Hermione let out a small squeak, startled at his sudden appearance next to him. Thanking him for helping her gather her things, the two of them stood back up and stared at each other.

"McGonagall wants us in her office. She told me earlier, and I forgot to let you know as well."

"Oh," Hermione replied, shifting her bag to her opposite shoulder.

Draco didn't say anything else, just started walking away. Momentarily stunned, Hermione stood in place, watching the back of Draco as he walked. Quickly coming back to what Draco had said, Hermione rushed to his side and the two walked to McGonagall's office together.

* * *

 _Author's note_ : Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, but here is Chapter 10! I really hope you guys are still liking the story so far and are still willing to stick with me as I continue to update with new chapters!

This next week and next update may come a day or two late, just so you're aware ahead of time. Being the Holiday season, my work is rather busy, and we unfortunately lost one employee who found another job, and two others are on holiday right now, so my schedule is jammed pretty tight.

Anyway, reviews are amazing! See you guys next week and have a safe time this week!


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey, Hermione? Can we talk for a moment?"

"Oh, Ron, of course." Hermione replied, setting her book on the empty couch cushion next to her.

"Somewhere… private?" Ron asked, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, the other in his pocket.

Hermione stood and followed him out of the Gryffindor Common Room, down a few flights of stairs, through a few corridors before they finally stopped and entered a dark, unused, empty classroom. Ron turned towards her after she closed the door, but didn't immediately say anything. He stood, staring awkwardly at her, not quite sure where he should begin.

He walked forward and grabbed Hermione, pulling her into a tight embrace. Ron simply held her there for a while, his neck bent in an odd position to allow his head to rest in the crook of her neck.

"I'm sorry," he said, finally pulling away from her. "I've been a real jerk lately. You haven't deserved any of it, and I'm sorry."

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, grabbing Ron and wrapping her arms around his neck once more. "Thank you."

* * *

Walking hand in hand, Hermione and Ron entered the Great Hall for Sunday breakfast. Hermione hadn't remembered when she had felt happier. Not only does she have a special task ahead of her, one asked by none other than her favorite Professor, but things between her and Ron were finally back to normal. She wasn't sure how things could possibly get any better for her and her life.

As they got to the Gryffindor table, Ron went off to talk to some of his Quidditch teammates, so Hermione picked a seat towards the end of the table. She hadn't been sitting there long when owls began flooding the Great Hall, bringing the day's mail. To her surprise, a large Tawney owl landed before her. She hadn't been expecting anything, so the letter tied to the owl's leg caught her off guard.

 **Classroom 11, Third Floor, 6 pm. Do not be late**

 **Headmistress McGonagall**

Hermione looked up after reading the short, simple note. Her eyes drifted across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table and found Draco looking back at her, note in hand as well. During their meeting the night before, McGonagall had told the two that they would soon begin making the potions. However, Hermione had never imagined they would begin the next day.

She folded the note and tucked it away into her robes, looking around to make sure none of her friends had noticed it. Thankfully everyone around her seemed to be into their own letters or into their meals that no one had noticed.

"Hey Hermione!"

"Hi, Ginny!" Hermione smiled as her friend sat down across from her.

The two girls sat chatting and giggling, while Harry and Ron came to join them. The four of them talked and laughed about nothing important, feeling more normal than ever before. Once they finished their meals, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry all left the Great Hall and headed outside, figuring they would pay Hagrid a visit. They hadn't seen him much since the beginning of the year, so it would be nice to say hi to him. As they left, Hermione glanced towards the Slytherin table quickly, finding Draco watching them as they left, a slight scowl on his face and hurt in his eyes.

* * *

Six o'clock snuck up on Hermione sooner than she had expected. Ron, Ginny, Harry, and herself were all in the common room together, Hermione on the couch watching Ron and Harry play Wizards Chess, Ginny attempting to give Harry pointers on how to beat her older brother. Standing up, she told them she had to leave for an important meeting.

"What do you mean an _important meeting_?" Ron asked.

"I can't explain, I'm sorry. But I do have to go."

Ron scowled at her lack of explanation, his ears beginning to turn red with anger.

"Ron, I'm sorry." Hermione said, attempting to subdue his anger. "You know I'd tell you if I could. This is just really important, okay?"

Ron returned his attention to their game of Wizards Chess, ignoring Hermione completely. Deciding it was best to just give up rather than turning this into a fight, she said goodbye to Harry and Ginny, then turned and left the common room. She looked down at her watch and saw she only had a few short minutes to make it from Gryffindor Tower to the third floor corridor.

Hermione broke into a run, taking the stairs two at a time. She sincerely hoped she wouldn't run into any students or teachers, figuratively or literally. She couldn't afford to be held up any more than she already had been. Thankfully, Hermione hadn't run into any interference on her way, so she had made it to the classroom with one minute to spare. Knocking quickly, she entered the room without waiting for an answer, ignoring the stitch she had in her side.

Hermione found both Draco and Professor McGonagall waiting for her when she entered the classroom. Between shallow breaths, she apologized for just barely making it on time, quickly explaining she had been held back by her friends. With a wave of her hand, McGonagall excused her almost-tardiness and motioned her to the empty seat next to Draco's.

"Before we begin I wanted to thank the both of you for coming on such short notice. I hadn't expected to need to begin so suddenly, but after our meeting last night I received and urgent owl from St. Mungo's. The owl stated we would need to begin on a few select potions as soon as possible, as their back stores were running low.

"Since this is the first time we are doing this, I wanted to initially go over my plans for how we will be executing this task. The time we will be taking out were, as I mentioned to Hermione and hopefully she passed it on to you, Draco, originally planned for your Double Potions classes and possibly running through dinner. However, due to unforeseen circumstances with which potions they needed, it appears you two will be working more than anticipated.

"Do not fret," McGonagall quickly said at the worried look both Hermione and Draco gave her. "The potions will still be worked on at night, none of your other lessons should be interrupted. As you two work, you may bring homework from your other lessons with you and work on them here.

"Now, the potions St. Mungo's desperately requires are both the Revive and Memory potions. While these two seem easily enough to create, they both do take some time and effort to complete. I just know that the time it takes to create these potions can be lengthy, which is why they requested them first.

"I trust you two are familiar with these potions?"

Hermione and Draco nodded.

"Good. They asked for three cauldrons full of each. I've written the instructions on the parchments in front of you. If you need me, simply call for me using the fireplace to your right."

With that, Professor McGonagall left them to do their work. For a few moments, the two of them sat in silence, not quite sure where to begin. Sighing, Draco stood and flicked his wand towards the fireplace, a fire springing to life almost instantly. Hermione stood as well and lit the remaining candles that were around the room. The fire in the fireplace and the small fires from the candles bathed them and the room in a soft orange glow.

Leaning over the table, looking down at the parchments on one of the only tables in the small room, Hermione quickly went over each potion.

"So," she said, looking over at Draco, who stood next to the fire, his back facing her. "Which one do you think we should start with?"

Draco sauntered over to the other side of the table and looked down at the potion instructions as well. He leaned down close to the parchments, turning them around so he could read them easier. The top of his head was inches away from Hermione's face, and she couldn't help but lean in just a little closer and breathe in. To her surprise, he smelled wonderfully to her. He had that unexplainable "clean" smell to him, but there was a hint of something else there as well. Something Hermione couldn't quite describe, but a scent that made her heart slightly flutter when she inhaled.

Hermione came to her senses and silently scolded herself, reminding herself she had a boyfriend waiting for her back in her common room. She moved herself away from the top of Draco's head and stood up, waiting for his decision. Only moments after she moved, Draco stood up as well and ran a hand through his hair.

Hermione admired the view she saw: Draco, his hair mussed from him running his hand through it, sleeves rolled up above his elbows, the firelight darkening his skin to a rich, golden color. To Hermione, in that moment, he looked gorgeous. Again, she silently scolded herself, wondering just what exactly was coming over her. Only a few hours earlier she was thinking things between her and Ron couldn't be any better, and now she was admiring someone else's looks? And this wasn't just a normal other guy, this was her boyfriend's _arch enemy._

Shaking her head to get her thoughts back on track, Hermione chose to speak up. "I was thinking we could start with the Memory Potion. Of the two, it's the easiest to begin, and while it's brewing we can start on the Revive Potion."

Draco just looked at her, his arms crossed at his chest, his brow furrowed.

"What?"

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

"R-really?"

"Yeah," Draco replied, a slight laugh playing around the word.

Their decision made, the two began to work in silence, gathering ingredients and setting everything up before they began. Just like in their previous Double Potions lesson, the two worked seamlessly together, divvying up roles without having to say what each other should do.

Hermione and Draco didn't say much to each other as they worked, other than simple requests for ingredients or tools. The silence wasn't uncomfortable for either of them. On the contrary, they both preferred to work in silence, finding talking to be distracting. Adding the last ingredient they could for the time being, Hermione sighed and Draco leaned back in his chair, his arms in the air, hands behind his head.

"Well, that's all we can do for now," Draco said, stretching his back as he continued to lean back in his chair. "I suppose it's close to dinnertime now."

"Oh, yeah, it is. I wonder wh-"

Hermione was cut off by a slight POP to their left. Startled, Hermione jumped and Draco fell backwards, the POP making him lose his balance in the chair. Two silver platters had appeared on the only other table in the room, along with two goblets and a large pitcher full of what appeared to be pumpkin juice.

Hermione reached out her hand and helped Draco up off the floor, trying her hardest not to laugh. Draco scoffed at her failed attempts and brushed himself off. She went to the table to see what they had been given while Draco picked his chair off the floor and placed it back at the table. Still giggling, she looked at the two platters and found two different kinds of sandwiches, a note on top of one of the piles.

 **I know it isn't much, but I hope this will do**

Hermione went back over to where their cauldron was and pulled her chair over to the other table. She poured herself and Draco some pumpkin juice and tucked in. She hadn't realized it while they were working, but Hermione was starving. Draco soon joined her, drinking from his goblet before grabbing a sandwich himself.

Hermione couldn't look at Draco without bursting into another fit of laughter, still because he fell from his chair. The hair on the back of his head was still messy and slightly dirty from the dust on the floor. Without thinking about it, Hermione reached out and brushed the dust from his hair, smoothing it down as she did.

Stunned, Draco didn't move or say anything. It wasn't long before Hermione realized what she had done and became stunned, too. She stuttered, trying to find the right words to say to apologize and explain what happened, but she couldn't find the words. Hermione looked down at the sandwich in her hand and began eating again, a very vibrant blush across her cheeks.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Ack! I am so, so, SO sorry that this chapter is almost three weeks late! I've had so much going on lately that I just simply haven't had any time to do much of anything. I, quite honestly, haven't even been able to do my laundry for the last two weeks because of it. I went from 25-30 hours a week at work to 40-45 with my shortest shift being 8 hours long.

Anyway, in this chapter we see more of the task Hermione and Draco have been assigned, and is that just a small hint of Dramione in there? *giggles* I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I can't wait for you guys to read the next two chapters coming up. :D

Again, I am so terribly sorry that it's taken me this long to get Chapter 11 up!


	12. Chapter 12

Draco was still in shock as he ate his sandwich. He wasn't quite sure what to think about Hermione and what she had done. He had heard and felt her lean in and smell the back of his head as he read over the potions instructions. He hadn't wanted her to know he knew what she did. It was strange enough for her to have done that without him having to say anything.

Now she had smoothed down the hair behind his head. It seemed to Draco as though Hermione had done it without thinking about it, as if it was something she was used to. Again, things were strange enough without him having to say anything.

Draco simply decided to let those events go and get back to their task at hand, which, for the time being, was eating. He hadn't known just how hungry he was until he had taken his first bite. Four sandwiches later, Draco still hadn't quite gotten full yet.

The two of them continued to eat in silence, neither of them looking at each other. Both still felt a little too awkward to make any sort of eye contact. Draco imagined Hermione felt even weirder than he did about their current situation, as it was she who had done those things. Hermione broke the silence between the two.

"Okay, this is silly. I'm sorry for what I did. I don't know what has come over me today."

"It's fine," Draco said, a little too quickly to be fully honest. "Let's just move forward, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay," Hermione replied, sighing.

Finished with his dinner, Draco chugged the rest of his pumpkin juice and moved his chair back to the first table. He stirred the cauldrons, thinking about whether they should start the Revive potion or call it a night and leave the Memory potion to brew. At that moment, Hermione finished her food as well, and joined Draco back at the first table.

"While I was eating, I was thinking… Maybe we should go ahead and start on the Revive potion now. I mean, we're here, we might as well keep going, right?"

"Sure."

Draco began to clear and clean the table, moving the first three cauldrons to the second table, the trays of sandwiches and goblets of pumpkin juice gone. As he shifted everything around, Hermione had grabbed the other cauldrons and gathered the ingredients they would need for this batch of Revive potion. Draco had finished moving the three cauldrons of Memory potion, and stood by the second table, admiring Hermione as she moved.

He hadn't wanted to admit it to Hermione, but he had secretly enjoyed the awkwardness of what had happened earlier. He liked the fact that she seemed to have been curious about his scent, leaning in close to smell him. He had also really liked when she had essentially done what any normal girlfriend would do and brushed his hair off for him. He knew one reason why he hadn't wanted to admit it: Weasley. After all, _he_ was her boyfriend. Seeing them in the Great Hall together, hand in hand, Hermione smiling more than he had ever seen her do before, Draco knew he had lost.

He had finally come to terms with how his feelings toward his curly haired companion had changed since their train ride at the start of the year. Draco had accepted that he had begun to develop feelings for Hermione, something that he simply couldn't fight any longer. He had also begun to think that maybe, _just maybe_ she could develop feelings for him, too. But then he saw her with Weasley that morning, and that hope had diminished to nothing.

Lowering his head, Draco tried to remember how happy she had seemed with _him_ during breakfast, knowing he could never be the source of her happiness like that. Admitting defeat, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind of everything, only focusing on the task at hand. He couldn't let himself get distracted by her so easily.

Hermione, finished with setting up the table for their new potion, had sat back down in her original spot at the first table. Draco moved slowly towards his chair, still refocusing his mind on the potion they had to do. His mind focused, he sat back down and began to read off the ingredients list to find which ones they would need first.

As usual, the two of them worked seamlessly and silently. Draco's mind had begun to race around Hermione and how she had acted towards him once more. There were so many questions he had wanted to ask, so many answers he wanted to find. However, he knew he couldn't ask them. She had seemed so shocked and so upset at what she had done earlier that he figured asking his questions would further upset her.

Without paying attention to what Hermione was doing, Draco stood up slightly from his chair and leaned in close to the middle cauldron. He was checking its color and consistency closely, making sure they had been doing everything correctly. In the back of his mind, he knew they had done everything so far perfectly, but he still wanted to check and make sure.

At the exact same moment, Hermione had done the exact same thing. She had slightly stood up from her chair and leaned in closely to the second cauldron, too, to check the same things Draco was checking. As he was leaning in above the cauldron, he felt Hermione's hair brush against the side of his face. Hermione reached up and moved it behind her ear, her fingers slightly running across Draco's cheek as she did so.

Without leaning back, the two of them turned and faced each other, their faces merely inches away. Neither of them moved, both in awe at how close they were. Draco could see Hermione's shiny, chocolate colored eyes more clearly than he ever could before. He watched them shift between his eyes and his lips before he mimicked her movements. The hair that she had tucked behind her ear had come loose again, and before he knew what he was doing, Draco lifted a hand and replaced it to its original place. His fingers lingered along her jaw line, his thoughts on one thing, and one thing only.

The forgotten about fire on the other side of the room crackled, bringing both Draco and Hermione back down to reality. They both stood back up and looked away from each other, blushes appearing on both their cheeks.

"Hermione, I-" "Draco, I-"

They both had begun to speak at the same time and stopped at the same time. They stood again in silence, searching each other's eyes. Again, Draco began to speak, Hermione remaining silent, her hand covering her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry," He said, lowering his head to look at the floor. "I don't know what…" Draco stopped, not sure how to continue.

"I'm sorry, too. I don't know… either…" Hermione replied, understanding what hadn't been said and agreeing to it.

At that moment, Draco was extremely confused. Was she beginning to feel the same way he was? Was she thinking what he was? Had Hermione been considering the same thing he had been? Was what happened just a fluke, something that wouldn't happen again? Draco's mind was spinning, questions flying in from every direction. Like before, Draco knew he couldn't ask these questions, couldn't get the answers he had desperately wanted.

* * *

 _Author's note_ : Ugh, I am terrible. Absolutely terrible. I'm so sorry everyone. Life has been, well, let's just say excruciatingly painful. So many things have happened in such a short period of time that I'm actually starting to find grey hairs. Grey hairs, and I'm only 22! I'll try my best to be better about posting, I promise. Thank you all for your patience and for sticking with me through these awfully long breaks between chapters.


	13. Chapter 13

The characters, location, and entire world belong to the incredible J.K. Rowling and only to her. I own absolutely nothing!

* * *

 _What is going on with me?_ Hermione questioned herself mentally. _Why am I doing this? Hours ago I was madly in love with Ron and now I had been considering kissing Draco!_ Draco Malfoy _of all people!_

Hermione had been quietly yelling at herself since she and Draco sat back down at the table and started working on the Revive potions again. The events of the night had been… Interesting, to say the least, and she had no idea why she was acting the way that she was. Above all else, Hermione felt guilty beyond her imagination. She felt awful about the way her thoughts had gone and from her actions.

Hermione forced herself to concentrate as she continued to chop the wiggentree bark into equal, small pieces. She watched Draco out of the corner of her eye, mysteriously curious as to what was going through his mind at that moment, too. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking of how close they had been and how much she had wanted to kiss him in that moment. She wondered if he, too, had been thinking about what had happened and how they had almost kissed.

Shaking her head, she dropped the wiggentree bark into the cauldrons and stirred them. With the wiggentree bark added, the two of them no longer needed to add any more ingredients to either potion. The only thing they could do was wait the remaining three hours needed and return to the Memory potions. Each of the two potions required four separate parts to their brewing, the parts broken up by hours of waiting time. The time the potions took to brew had reminded Hermione of her second year and brewing the extremely complicated Polyjuice potion in Myrtle's bathroom.

Sighing, Hermione stood and stretched. Draco, too, stood from his chair and began stretching. Hermione sighed again, looking around the room, trying to find something to occupy her time as they waited. Finding nothing, she sighed again.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to go to my common room real fast and grab something."

Draco just looked at her, resolved against replying. Figuring this meant she was free to leave, Hermione quickly dashed out of the room. Walking along the corridor, she had hoped she wouldn't run into any prefects or teachers as she went back up to her common room. She wasn't sure about the time, but she knew it was extremely late and that her and Draco were out passed curfew. Hermione hadn't been told what would happen after they left from brewing the potions and she believed that Professor McGonagall had told the staff and prefects that she and Draco were allowed out after hours.

Hermione didn't meet anyone as she walked towards Gryffindor Tower. Thinking that she should probably hurry so she wasn't gone too long, she began speed-walking, taking the stairs two at a time. Arriving at the portrait of The Fat Lady, she said the password and quietly entered the common room.

No one was awake as she entered. Still tip-toeing, she made her way up to the girl's dormitory, grabbed a blanket and her favorite book, the one she had been reading when McGonagall called upon her days before, and silently left the dormitory. The Gryffindor common room was still completely silent and empty when she left through the portrait hole.

* * *

Hermione entered the classroom her and Draco were working in to find it looking completely different. The two tables were now pushed against the walls, two large cushions, both draped with a blanket, now placed side by side in front of the fire. Draco was laying on the one on the right, his eyes closed, his arms supporting the back of his head as he relaxed.

Hermione walked across the classroom and lied back on her cushion, wrapping herself in the blanket. She assumed that Draco had fallen asleep and hadn't noticed her return, so she opened her book and started to read.

"I called on McGonagall while you were gone."

"Hmm?" Hermione replied, setting her book down and looking over at Draco. He still had his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.

"I called on McGonagall while you were gone. With the fire."

"Oh?"

"I wanted to ask her if she wanted us to stay here while we waited or if we could leave to our common rooms and come back when we needed to. She wants us to stay here as long as possible, so we can keep brewing these potions.

"She also told me that, because of the importance of these potions, we'll be missing our classes tomorrow to work on them. McGonagall said she already told the other Professors that we'll be absent from our lessons tomorrow."

Draco stopped and shook his head. Hermione watched him sit up and sigh before he continued.

"If you ask me, I think this is completely ridiculous, but there's nothing we can do about it. It looks like we're stuck here for the time being. So, with her permission, I made the room a little more… cozy, for the two of us."

Hermione nodded, picked up her book, marked her page, and placed it on the floor. She didn't feel like reading anymore. The news about her and Draco needing to stay overnight and through tomorrow had come as a shock. She also wasn't sure how comfortable she would feel sleeping in the same room with him, especially with the events of the night.

She knew, however, that voicing her complaints would be pointless. Draco was right, there was nothing they could do about it. Hermione curled herself into a ball and closed her eyes, cuddling down underneath her blanket. She had just started to doze when she sat up suddenly.

"Wait, do you have any sort of alarm for when we need to get to the potions?"

"Look behind you." Draco hadn't moved when he replied.

Hermione looked behind her and saw what looked like an ordinary muggle alarm clock. For a moment she had wondered where Draco had gotten it and why he had a muggle alarm clock, but she let it go quickly. Just like not knowing how hungry she was until she saw the sandwiches earlier, Hermione hadn't realized just how tired she was until she had laid down on the overly large, extremely comfortable cushion Draco had made for her. Utterly exhausted, she closed her eyes again without replying to her companion, and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Hermione had heard the alarm go off, felt something move beside her, then the alarm was silent once more. She hadn't wanted to move, hadn't wanted to get up or open her eyes. She was so comfortable, so warm, and she knew that moving meant the end of all that. Instead, she snuggled down even more, keeping her eyes closed, burrowing her face into the blanket below her.

Hermione heard a soft chuckle above her head and felt a hand brush the hair away from her face. Instantly, she opened her eyes and sat up to find Draco kneeling in front of her, still chuckling.

"Come on," he said, "We've got to get these potions going or we'll have to start over."

Yawning and stretching, Hermione reluctantly got up and shuffled to where the two tables were. When Draco redid the classroom while she was gone, he had moved both tables so they were side by side and lined them up against the opposite wall from the fire. The two chairs they had been sitting in were also on that side of the room, angled to where they could both easily reach any of the six cauldrons they were using.

Rubbing her eyes, she sat down in her usual chair and began to crush porcupine quills. They didn't have too much to do to the Memory potions before they had to leave them alone to brew them. The Memory potions just required only three more ingredients, crushed or cut and added perfectly before they were able to go back to sleep.

They worked quickly, both wanting to sleep some more before morning had arrived. It was still dark outside, the sky looking inky black with very few stars visible. Hermione hadn't even wanted to guess at what time it was, she didn't honestly care at that moment. All she cared about was adding these ingredients as soon as they could, for she was still exhausted.

Draco added the last of the moonseed to the three cauldrons while Hermione stirred all three vigorously. The potion required five fast turns clockwise, three fast turns counter-clockwise, then another ten fast turns clockwise before it could be considered complete for the time being. When finished, it would turn a brilliant blue while still bubbling. After stirring, all three cauldrons had their contents turn the necessary brilliant blue, signifying they did them correctly.

Hermione and Draco both sighed at the same time. Smiling slightly, Hermione got up from the chair and returned to her cushion, burrowing herself under her blanket once more. The room was quite cold, even though the fire was still burning in front of their cushions. As if reading her mind, Draco pushed her cushion from behind, moving it closer to the fire so she could feel its warmth even more. He then moved his own cushion closer to the fire, too, causing the two of them to be quite close to each other. Neither Hermione nor Draco had minded, of course. Right now, their main concern was warmth and sleep.

After Draco had settled down in his own cushion, Hermione sat up, an idea coming to her mind. She got up from her cushion, grabbed her wand off the table, and silently cast a warmth spell over the two of them and their designated sleeping area. That way, even if the fire burned itself out in the middle of the night, the two of them would still be warm. Hermione laid back down on her cushion, sufficiently warmed up, and fell asleep almost as soon as her eyes were closed.

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Well, here is Chapter 13! When I first started this story, I never imagined it would reach ch 13, nor did I ever think I'd have as many amazing story followers and reviewers as I do. It's because of all of you that I'm still here, still writing and updating this story, so I wanted to say THANK YOU!

Reviews are amazing and truly appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N:_ It's here, it's here, it's finally here! Chapter 14 has finally arrived, everyone! Thank you so _so_ much for sticking around and dealing with such sporadic updates while I've been working through my issues.

Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter 14!

* * *

Draco woke up the next day warmer than he remembered when falling asleep. There was an unexpected heat source coming from somewhere in front of him. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, reluctant to actually wake up and remove himself from his comfortable position. Instead of getting up, he burrowed himself closer to the source of his warmth, pulling it towards his body even more.

A few seconds passed before Draco's eyes shot open, wide, with the sudden realization of just what that heat source was. When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking directly into the back of Hermione's head, mere inches from his own face. Draco looked down and found that his arms were wrapped around her stomach, her arms wrapped around his. It was clear to him she hadn't woken up, either, since she had yet to move or realize their position.

Before they had gone to sleep, their cushions had been close, yes, but not nearly that close. He tried to remember waking up at all during the night, but couldn't recall waking up. As far as Draco remembered, he had slept soundly through the night. He wondered if, in his sleep, he had gotten up and moved them closer, but he was never one to sleep walk. In all his years he had rarely even moved more than once or twice throughout the night, so he doubt he was the one who moved them. Which only left Hermione. He wondered when she had moved the two of them directly next to each other and also why she had done it to begin with.

Knowing he most likely wouldn't know how they had gotten so close while they were sleeping, Draco chose to stay where he was. Again, he burrowed closer to Hermione, grabbing her closer and digging his face into her hair. He had never been this comfortable before, nor had he ever slept as well as he did that night. Draco blamed this on being so close to Hermione, and he truly enjoyed that. He honestly didn't want this moment to end.

At some point Draco had fallen back to sleep, for when he opened his eyes again it was later in the morning and he was alone. He sat up on his cushion, finding the room empty aside from himself. He momentarily asked himself where Hermione could have gone off to when a piece of parchment off to his right caught his eye. Lying back down, he picked up the note and read it quickly.

 _ **I went to shower and change real quick. I shouldn't be gone very long. Before I left I added a few needed ingredients to the potions, so you shouldn't have to do anything right away.**_

 _ **Hermione.**_

Draco sighed. _I should probably go and shower, too,_ he thought as he stood up and stretched. Yawning slightly, he exited the classroom, magically locked the door, and set off down the corridor. The hallways and stairs were all empty as he walked towards the Slytherin common room, since first lessons of the day were currently going on.

He quickly showered and changed his clothes, wanting to get back to the classroom as soon as possible. Draco was starving, so he hoped there would be food when he returned. He hadn't checked the tables at all when he left, so he didn't know if food had already been there before. Either way, Draco knew he needed something to eat soon.

Draco had made it back to the classroom door and saw that it was still locked. He unlocked the door and entered the room, searching quickly to see if Hermione had come back yet. Finding the room was still empty, he sighed again as he walked to the fireplace. Everything that had happened last night had left Draco with even stronger feelings towards Hermione, which is why he had hoped she would be back when he returned.

With Professor McGonagall called with the fire about breakfast, Draco waited anxiously at one of the tables to see what she would be sending. Thankfully he didn't have to wait very long. With a loud POP, two platters appeared before him on the table, both completely full of food. Bacon, eggs, toast, and potatoes were crammed on one platter, porridge, oatmeal, and three different cereals were on the other. A pitcher and two goblets had also appeared along with the food, and Draco couldn't wait to dig in. He loaded up his own plate and started eating ravenously, as if he hadn't eaten in days.

His mouth was full of food when he heard the door open behind him. Draco swallowed and looked around quickly to find Hermione standing in the doorway. She looked amazing. The upper half of her hair was pulled back into a braid, and the rest hung loosely around her shoulders. She was wearing a light blue striped muggle sweater and a pair of jeans. He could swear he noticed the slightest tint of pink powder along her cheek bones and a small line of black around her eyes. Draco could do nothing but stare at her, his mouth still hanging open.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like ages before Hermione's grumbling stomach brought them back to reality. She sat down next to Draco and they began eating, neither of them saying anything to the other. Finally, Draco couldn't keep his mouth closed any longer.

"You look nice, Hermione."

"T-thank you, Draco."

Draco only nodded in return without looking at her, keeping his eyes on his plate. They continued to eat in silence, only the occasional popping from the fire to be heard. Once the two were finished, the platters and goblets disappeared once more, and they turned their attention to their task at hand.

"It looks like we don't really have to do anything to either of the potions for another few hours," Hermione said, both parchments of instructions in front of her face. "For the Revive potions, we just have two more ingredients to add, both three hours apart, then let it brew for another 4 before it's finished. I already added the first ingredient before I left this morning, so we don't have to worry about that one."

Draco moved behind Hermione, leaning over her shoulder to read the instructions as well. "The Memory potion still requires a lot more work from what I can tell, but it shouldn't be too difficult for us to handle."

It was hard for Draco to concentrate on what he was saying and reading being this close to Hermione. His face was once again only a few inches from her own, his chest hovering above her right shoulder. He tried his hardest not to breathe in deeply, though the scent permeating from her was intoxicating. Draco had never smelled anything like it before, and he was completely entranced by it.

Hermione hadn't reacted to their closeness, either, trying her best not to seem phased by it. She simply nodded an agreement and continued to stare at the parchments held in her hand. The overwhelming closeness finally got to Draco. He turned his head, moved in so he was only a few centimeters way, closed his eyes, and placed a small kiss upon her cheek before he even realized what he was doing.

His thoughts came back to him quickly, his eyes shooting open. He stood up and backed away from her as fast as he could, completely and utterly shocked at what he had done. Draco began stuttering an apology when he was suddenly cut off by Hermione. She didn't say anything to him, just held up her hand to silence him.

"Let's just concentrate on our work, okay?" Hermione said, ignoring the event totally. She acted as if Draco had done nothing out of the ordinary, even though the vibrant red tint to her face giving her feelings away.

Draco's breaths were shallow and fast, his nerves still out of control. _You idiot!_ He screamed at himself in his mind. _What the bloody hell were you thinking?!_ He kept his eyes closed, standing behind and slightly to the right of Hermione, his head tilted to the floor. Draco didn't think he could look at her right now. He felt awful for what he had done. He didn't know what exactly came over him, and now, to him, he was a complete fool. A total idiot.

Draco sat down, his eyes tightly shut, his hands in his lap. He used all of his concentration on one thing, and one thing only: compartmentalizing his mind and clearing all his thoughts from his feelings and what he had done. Hermione sat in silence, watching Draco from the corner of her eyes, curious to see what he was doing. Soon, Draco's facial expression began to change, softening and relaxing until he looked completely calm. His shoulders slumped, his back rounded, his head dropping to his chest. At first, Hermione assumed he had fallen asleep sitting up, but soon Draco stirred. Draco lifted his head, opened his eyes, and looked totally calm and collected.

When Draco stood up and faced Hermione, she noticed there was a change to his eyes. There no longer was a shine to them, it was like she could no longer see into Draco's mind and heart through his eyes. They were blank and empty, as if they were flat and drawn on paper. Draco moved back to the table and sat back down next to Hermione without a word. He picked up the forgotten about parchment that had fallen to the floor and began reading over the instructions for the Memory potion a little more closely.

The next few hours passed by with little words said between the two. They only talked about what they were working on, Draco's eyes still oddly empty. Occulomency had been something Draco learned at a young age, something he had perfected early on. Growing up in his family, with his father always demanding absolute perfection, occulomency was something needed. During the time Lord Voldemort had been using Draco's home as his "base", Draco had relied on compartmentalizing his mind more than ever before. Knowing Voldemort's powers and abilities to enter anyone's mind at will, occulomency had kept Draco alive in the most dire of moments.

Now, occulomency had been needed to keep his thoughts straight, his mind clear of anything related to kissing Hermione's cheek and his growing feelings towards her. Whenever he used this skill, his mind went absolutely blank aside from whatever task was at hand. He felt guilty being able to forget the day's events and the feelings he had, but he stamped the feeling quickly. He wanted nothing more than to forget what he did, afraid of what Hermione had been thinking about it, slightly angered at her lack of reaction to the kiss.

* * *

 _Author's note_ : So, I'm officially back everyone! Here's the long awaited Chapter 14! I'm so happy to finally be back in the game of writing and posting for all of you to read. I promised you guys I'd be back, didn't I? I'm not one to break my promises ;)

I'm still working through stuff but things have definitely improved from where I was before. I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be posted, but I promise it will not take nearly as long as this chapter did!

As I said above, thank you all so so very much for staying with me during these times. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it feels to know you all are still here, still anticipating when the next chapter will be posted. I also wanted to personally thank pgoodrichboggs for your kind words in the review you wrote. You all rock my world!


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione had been too shocked at what happened to react fully to it. The moment Draco's lips had touched her cheek, she felt this jolt of electricity spark from the contact, an unusual warmth spreading through her face and down her entire body. She had never felt anything like that before, so she didn't know what to do. There was just too much going on in her mind, her thoughts completely tangled in a jumbled mess.

She did the only thing she knew she could do: hold up her hand to stop Draco's stuttered apology, and suggest they concentrate on their work, ignoring what happened completely. She knew the feverish color to her cheek gave her feelings away (what a magical kiss!), but they had to concentrate before all hell broke loose.

Hermione felt bad for not actually acknowledging what Draco had done, for not letting him into her thoughts about the kiss. It seemed, to her, to really affect him, and not in a good way. He had sat down without saying anything, stayed there for what seemed like an eternity. When Draco had finally stood back up and looked at her, his eyes had lost their shine. They were completely empty, just grey voids in his face. He showed no emotion, not even just the tiniest whisper of happiness found in them anymore.

She wanted to say something about it. To bring Draco back out of wherever he had retreated, but she knew in her heart he wouldn't return. Not today, at least, not with her. So she remained quiet, avoiding looking at him the best she could. Looking at him, seeing his empty and almost-soulless-like eyes hurt her deeply, especially because she knew she was the source of this emptiness. Hermione hadn't realized just how much her lack of a reaction had affected him, and knowing it was because of this that he had shut himself down.

Hermione wanted to cry, to curl into a ball and shut herself off as well. She worked instead, all of her thoughts and attention on preparing the remaining ingredients they would need to finish their first of who knows how many potions for St. Mungo's. Draco, too, focused all of his attention on helping her with the rest of the ingredients, completely silent and still cold towards Hermione.

* * *

It was late at night when both Hermione and Draco finally emerged from the empty classroom, finished with their task. They said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways, Hermione going one way towards Gryffindor Tower, Draco the other, towards the Dungeons.

Hermione was completely exhausted. She made her way up to Gryffindor Tower slowly, both her body and mind dragging as she walked. So much had happened in only 36 hours, both between the work they did and between herself and Draco. She had been fighting an internal battle since Draco had kissed her on the cheek, leaving her mind completely drained of everything. Her mind had been going so much during the last few hours they worked that she felt that, if she were to think of anything, her mind would explode.

Saying the password to The Fat Lady, she entered the Gryffindor common room and went straight up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. She hadn't even said a word to any of her friends and classmates while she walked, brushing them off with a wave of her hand. Once at her bed, Hermione stripped and changed into her pajamas and laid down in bed, asleep before her head had even hit the pillow.

That night, Hermione's dreams had been both good and bad at the same time. She dreamt of two possibilities of her future: being with Draco and remaining with Ron. Both dreams, and both scenarios had their good and their bad moments. It was hard for her, in both dreams, to know whether she had made the right choice in her love life. By the end of the dream, her subconscious self was even more confused and more flustered by what she should do. Her dream-self had screamed in frustration before burrowing her head in her hands, admitting total defeat.

* * *

Hermione woke up the next morning refreshed and feeling better than ever. She hadn't remembered her dream from the night before, so she didn't remember just how frustrated and confused she had been with her choice of man. Hermione sat up in bed and stretched, in no hurry to actually get up and start her day. She sat there for a few moments, enjoying the quiet and calm morning, the rest of the girls in the dormitory still asleep.

Dressed and ready, Hermione headed down the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room, only to find it empty. She knew it was early, but she wasn't sure just how early it really was. The sun was up, and it appeared that it had been up for at least an hour, if not longer. It was only Thursday, so she knew everyone wasn't sleeping in like they would on the weekend. Sighing, Hermione went back up to the girls' dormitory, grabbed her school bag and all her books, and brought them back down to the common room. She had already finished any homework assigned to them previously, so instead she studied, grabbing her Transfiguration book first.

Not much time had passed before the common room slowly began to fill, the rest of the Gryffindors finally waking up. Noting her place in her Transfiguration book, Hermione replaced her book into her bag and waited for Ron. She didn't have to wait long, though, for soon she could see the top of his bright red hair appearing over the rest of the students, a dark haired Harry next to him. Catching his eye, Hermione smiled and waved. Ron only scoffed and left Gryffindor tower without so much as a 'hello' back.

Hermione felt scorned, completely stung by Ron's actions towards her. She had no idea as to what she had done or why he had acted the way he did. He couldn't possibly know… Could he? She thought as she walked her bag back up to the girl's dormitory. No, there's no way. There has to be something else going on. Something he isn't telling me. Soon her hurt changed into anger. As far as Ron knew, she hadn't done anything wrong. Technically, she really hadn't done anything wrong. It was Draco who kissed her cheek, not the other way around. Sure, she hadn't exactly told him not to or that it was wrong, but still. To Hermione, she had done nothing to deserve Ron's treatment of her that morning.

Hermione's anger grew more as she went down to the Great Hall. By the time that she got into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, she was furious. How DARE he? She thought, I have done NOTHING to him. She sat fuming while she ate, unaware that she was taking her anger out on her food, slamming her fork into her plate as hard as she could, her face contorted in fury. Her fellow students completely avoided her, giving her a wide birth and avoiding any sort of eye contact.

It wasn't until Hermione had looked up and registered her surroundings that her anger began to subside. As usual during meals, she found herself focusing on a bright blonde head on the opposite side of the hall, her mood instantly changing. Draco had been staring at her, too, nothing but concern found on his face and in his eyes. Seeing the way he had been looking at her had made Hermione's anger vanish almost instantly. It didn't take more than a look from him for her to feel calm again.

Unknown to both her and Draco, a red headed Weasley had been watching the exchange from a few seats away.

* * *

 _AN: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's been nearly a year since my last update. As per usual, things have been absurdly crazy in my life. I think the worst of it is the fact that my "creative juices" went completely out the window. I'd been stuck on a chapter I'd wanted to get finished before I updated this story, and it made all of my confidence in this story dissipate._

 _But, just when I thought I'd be updating this story to say it was officially abandoned, I got an incredible review from a guest user named Melodie H. That review just, I can't even accurately explain it, but it really made me want to keep writing. So, if you're still here, Melodie, thank you so very much for your review. It honestly helped me when I needed it most._

 _Hopefully it won't be yet another year before the next update. I'm quite a few chapters ahead of what all of you are, and still writing strong. I've said this so many times before, but I'm going to say it again. Thank you all so so very much for sticking with me throughout the long updates and for your amazing reviews. You guys are the reason I'm still able to keep writing._


	16. Chapter 16

Draco hadn't slept well the night before. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her and how beautiful she looked to him when she came back into their secret potions room earlier that day. Whenever he had fallen asleep, the moment he kissed her replayed in his dreams, over and over again, completely relentless. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to dream of anything else, so he chose to simply not dream at all. He stayed awake most of the night, tossing and turning, trying his best to clear Hermione from his mind.

Breakfast hadn't been much better for him, either. By now he was used to the way his housemates ignored him, but when he saw her sitting on the other side of the Great Hall, anger seeming to consume her, he became deeply concerned. Seeing her stabbing at her food with such force, Draco had stood up without knowing what he was doing. All he wanted to do was go over to her and console her, to ask her what was making her so angry. Catching himself, he sat back down quickly, hoping no one had noticed. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear his mind once more, to no avail.

Draco had been staring at Hermione, watching her movements, the way she carried her anger and allowed it to control her every move. He felt nothing but sympathy and concern for her, emotions that he had never felt for anyone but his mother until now. They had completely caught him off guard, making him question his sanity. What is going on? He thought, first I kiss her, now I'm concerned for her? Has someone poisoned me? Draco laughed silently at the last question to pass through his mind. He knew without a doubt that he had, indeed, been poisoned, but not by any sort of traditional means. Most people would call it infatuation, love, or any number of things, but to Draco, it was nothing of the sort. To him, it was being poisoned.

As he sat there staring at Hermione, lost in his own thoughts about love and poisoning, Hermione had lifted her head and their eyes had met. Instantly her anger had melted away, the redness drained from her face, her eyes softened. Draco was slightly shocked at this sudden change in her, one he could not only see in her, but feel from her, too. He didn't understand how he could feel that her mood had changed when their eyes met, but then again, he didn't understand much of anything when it came to her and him.

He dropped his eyes quickly, looking back to his plate and the food he had been only picking at. He hadn't been that hungry to begin with when he came down, but now his appetite had completely vanished. Standing from the table, Draco decided to return to his common room and arrive to class early, hoping the distraction of studying in the quiet, empty classroom would help clear his mind. He walked out of the Great Hall, made it to the Slytherin Common Room and to his bed, grabbed his things, and was on his way up the first flight of stairs to the classrooms when someone had called his name.

"MALFOY!" The red headed Weasley yelled.

Instantly, Draco froze. Turning slowly, he looked down at Ginny, the youngest and only female of the Weasley children.

"What do you want, Weasley?" Draco spat, the usual venom in his voice.

"Are you going to elaborate on that exchange back there?" Ginny returned, meeting Draco's scowl, her arms crossed across her chest, her weight shifted to one foot.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Draco turned his back to her and resumed walking up the stairs. In an instant he heard footsteps behind him. Ginny appeared at his side, determined to continue their conversation. Bloody pest, Draco thought, his scowl growing.

"We both know you know exactly what I'm talking about, Malfoy. I saw your little exchange with Hermione back there, you know."

For a split second, Draco stopped in his tracks. He quickly continued walking, hoping Ginny hadn't noticed his hesitation. He stayed silent, knowing no excuse would be met with any belief. She had seen the whole thing. Saw how Hermione had calmed upon meeting his eyes. Ginny had also probably noticed the concern radiating from Draco's face, since he knew he hadn't attempted to hide how he was worried about Hermione during that short time.

"So, you're not even going to pretend that didn't happen?"

At this, Draco stopped and faced Ginny, catching her off guard. She took a step back, hesitant to know what he would say, or even do.

"What do you want me to say, Weasley? What's the point of you badgering me like this?" Draco took a step closer to her, while she took a step back again. He met each of her steps until Ginny felt the wall of the corridor against her back. He was close to her now, uncomfortably so, and she knew she couldn't back away now.

"Do you want me to say I care about that frizzy haired know-it-all? That I was concerned about her?" He spat, his voice quiet enough for her to have to strain to hear what he was saying, even though he was so close to her. "What does it matter to you what I do or how I may…. Feel? Nothing I do has anything to do with you. Know your place, Weasley, and keep your freckled nose out of my business if you know what's good for you."

Draco turned and left, determined to put as much space between himself and the red head. Ginny, her back still against the corridor wall, only stood and watched him walk away, completely shocked at what he had said.

* * *

Draco's day hadn't improved in any way as the hours went by. His mind was lost on Hermione and what had happened the previous day, on Ginny and their intense conversation, and the fact that he had done nothing to convince her what she saw was nothing more than a fluke. He didn't even understand it himself, to be honest. Normally he would have completely shot Ginny down, deflating her to nothing with clever insults all the while building himself up. Instead, he essentially told her she was right, that what she saw was true.

Not only was his mind completely occupied on those two girls, but he was just generally having bad luck that day. First, he ripped an important piece of parchment when trying to pick it up on the ground during one of his classes. He also somehow managed to knock over an entire vial of ink, spilling it all over his books and cloak. He tripped down the stairs when he was going to the Great Hall for lunch, Peeves managed to get the best of him, splattering him with a water balloon full of some weird smelling green slime, and the hem of his favorite cloak had ripped from being caught under a chair when he stood up.

Even though Draco had one class left before the day's end, he decided to skip it, knowing his luck was going to continue to be awful if he went. He wasn't sure what it was about that day, but nothing was going according to plan and he hated it. He walked down the front steps and out of the castle, no particular destination in mind. He watched the ground as he walked, his mind still occupied on the day's events. When Draco looked up, he found himself trailing along the edge of the lake, headed towards the large tree he had spent time relaxing and studying at. Draco looked out towards the lake, watching the tentacles of the giant squid swish merrily through the waters.

As Draco rounded the corner of the small nook where "his" tree was located, he found his spot already taken. He recognized who it was immediately; her bushy brown hair always gave her away. Hermione's head was down, leaning over her books, studying intently. Draco had stopped walking when he first saw her, and he stood as still as possible, trying not to disturb her. He began to back away slowly, doing his best to make as little noise as he could. Unfortunately for him, he backed right on top of a small pile of branches, breaking them as soon as his weight hit their small frames.

Hermione's head snapped up at the sound of the breaking twigs. They stared at each other in complete silence, neither sure of what to say, or what could have been said. Slowly, Draco began his retreat backwards once more. To his surprise, Hermione called out, "Wait!"

He waited.

"Will you sit with me? I think we have something we need to talk about."

Draco stood in silence for a few moments, trying to decide whether he should stay or if he should just turn around and walk away. He was sure she was going to chastise him, tell him off for kissing her cheek. What he wasn't sure about was if he was ready for that kind of thing, especially with how his day had been already. Screw it, he thought, after the day I've had, this will be nothing.

Slowly, Draco walked towards Hermione and sat down next to her, his back and head against the tree's trunk. He kept his eyes closed and didn't say anything, just waited for her to start tearing into him for what he'd done the previous night. He didn't notice her closing her book and putting it back into her bag, or notice when she shifted back towards the tree as well, moving closer to him, almost touching him.

The two just sat in silence for a while, Draco dreading what was about to come. To his surprise, the barrage of heated words never came. Instead he felt Hermione's head slowly lower to his shoulder, her body shifting until her side was pressed against his. Draco froze completely. He wasn't sure of what to do, so he held as still as possible. He heard Hermione sigh in contentment.

It wasn't long before Hermione finally lifted her head from his shoulder. When she did so, Draco leaned his head forward and opened his eyes. He looked over towards Hermione, but she was looking forward, out towards the lake. He could feel warmth radiating from her body, and small electric jolts kept running through his own, merely from the contact between the two of them. He wanted to say something, to ask her what she was thinking and what the contact and her leaning her head onto his shoulder had meant. Instead, he waited.

"Draco…"

"Yeah?"

"About last night…"

Hermione sighed before continuing. "I didn't mean to upset you. I-I just didn't know what to do… I mean, I'm still in a relationship with Ron, you know that. But I can't help but feel like something is here, growing, between the two of us. It shouldn't happen, I know it shouldn't happen, but I can't deny how I-"

Draco cut Hermione off quickly. He had grabbed her chin, turned her to face him, and kissed her. The moment their lips met, he felt this amazing shock come from the contact, shooting down his entire body, filling him with this warm tingling sensation he had never experienced before. Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, and he had moved his hand from her chin and buried it into her hair, placing his other onto the small of her back, pulling her closer.

They stayed that way, locked together, for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly they untangled themselves from each other, Draco regretfully pulling his hands away from her small frame. They sat and stared at each other until Hermione had finally turned away and faced the lake once more.

"Well, that was unexpected," she said.

"You talk too much, Granger."

They both laughed at this, both knowing just how true his statement was. Hermione grabbed his hand and threaded her small fingers through his.

* * *

 _Author's note: Ooooh! They kissed! I hope you guys like the way I wrote in the actual kiss!_

 _I am honestly so thankful for each and every one of you guys. When I finally updated with Chapter 15, I received over 1,000 views on that one day. That is absolutely incredible! You guys completely amaze me. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, and be sure to review this chapter, too! See you guys next update!_


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione had placed her head on Draco's shoulder without realizing what she was doing, and in that moment she had thought that would be the only contact between the two of them. For the time being, that is. Once her head was on his shoulder, she had to keep breathing under control. Touching him like that made her body feel weak, shaky, her heart threatening to beat straight out of her chest. Her nerves were completely out of control. When she finally calmed herself down, she felt at peace. Like she belonged there, next to Draco.

Then, Draco did something incredible. She had not been expecting Draco to make her stop talking in the manner that he did. He had taken her completely by surprise, but it was magical nonetheless. The minute his lips had touched hers, her breath had been taken from her. She had felt fireworks in her body from the simple contact of his lips to her own, a feeling she had never experienced before. Her body had warmed immediately, and she succumbed to the kiss within seconds.

She hadn't wanted it to end, but knew she had to pull away. It was one of the hardest things she had done to date, and regret filled her. She turned her head away from his, unable to look him in the eye for fear they would continue where they had left off.

"Well that was unexpected," she said.

"You talk too much, Granger."

Hermione couldn't help bursting into laughter when he said this. All her life she'd been told she talked too much, especially when she was feeling nervous. Their laughter had washed away any tension that had remained between the two of them, and Hermione threaded her fingers through Draco's, feeling incredible about him, herself, and what happened.

The two of them stayed next to the tree for quite a while, staring at the lake and watching the sky change magnificent colors as the sun began to fade, making small talk about nothing important. Finally, Hermione released her hand from Draco's and gathered her things.

"We should probably head inside now, classes are almost finished and people are going to start flooding the grounds."

"One of us should stay behind for a while, that way no one questions if we were together."

"Good point."

Hermione stood up and grabbed her bag from the ground. She took a step forward, then turned around quickly. "I'll figure things out and write you." She leaned down, kissed Draco on the cheek, then hurried off back towards the castle.

* * *

Hermione had been enjoying dinner that night, chatting with Ginny and a few other girls in Gryffindor. Ron was still being a jerk to her, as he had been all day, but with what happened at the lake, Hermione couldn't help but feel great. She felt the best she had in quite a long time and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

She couldn't help but occasionally look across the Great Hall at a certain blonde haired boy on the other side. Even before the events at the lake had happened, she'd always find herself drawn to him, but now more than ever. She couldn't help herself, not after what had happened. The more she looked at him, however, the more torn she began to feel. She knew she would have to make a decision, and make one soon.

Hermione was saved from any thoughts about the subject when a folded note suddenly appeared in front of her. She read the neat handwriting on the front as she picked it up, and saw it warned her to not read it in front of the others.

"What's that?" Ginny asked, peering over the table, trying to get a better look at the piece of parchment in Hermione's hands.

"I'm not sure, but it must be important if it's come this late."

She stood up from the table and excused herself, telling Ginny she would catch up with her later. She apologized over her shoulder as she rushed out of the Great Hall, eager to read the note and find out who it was from.

 _ **I will need you and Mr. Malfoy to come to**_

 _ **my office immediately after lunch tomorrow.**_

 _ **Remember, not a word to anyone.**_

 _ **Headmistress McGonagall**_

Hermione, used to how short and clipped McGonagall's words could be when she used notes, wasn't concerned with what she could need her and Draco for. She assumed it was time for the two of them to spend time together creating more potions. Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone else, she was rather excited to spend time with Draco again.

When Hermione had entered the Gryffindor tower she found it empty. Everyone else was still at dinner, so it didn't come as a surprise to her. She went up to the girls' dormitory and threw herself into bed. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Draco and Ron. She knew she had to make a decision, and make one soon. She also knew her feelings towards Draco had begun to grow and blossom into something new, something amazing, something that made her scared and excited at the same time.

And then there was Ron. The relationship between the two of them had been great at first, but as the months passed by, she felt the two of them had been growing apart. Hermione hadn't wanted to admit it at first, just ignored the growing animosity she was feeling. Now, however, it was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Hermione sat up in bed, reached down and grabbed one of her quills and a small piece of parchment. She scribbled a quick note and closed her eyes when she finished. In a matter of seconds, the small note disappeared. She felt a little better after sending the note, but she was still rather bothered. Gathering her things, Hermione decided to visit the library to do some research on potion making and to study her other classes.

She hadn't yet made it out of the common room when she was stopped by Ginny. Hermione really didn't want to speak with anyone, but knew it was inevitable. She had told her she would catch up with her later, after all.

"So, are you going to tell me what that note was about?" Ginny asked.

"I can't. I'm sorry, Ginny. It's personal."

Ginny just stared at her with an unrecognizable look. Hermione felt bad about keeping this from Ginny, but she had no other option. She was under instructions to not tell a soul about her and Draco's job, and she knew that included her very best friends. The two of them sat down on one of the couches in front of the fire.

"Are you sure you can't tell me?"

"Yes, Ginny. I'm sorry."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Hermione, studying her incredulously. "Was it from him?"

"Him? Him who?"

"A certain Slytherin boy who hasn't been able to take his eyes off you for quite some time now."

Hermione knitted her eyebrows together and tilted her head to the side, trying to think about who Ginny had been referring to.

Ginny sighed. "I meant Malfoy."

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, slightly blushing at the thought. "No, it wasn't from him. Wait, what do you mean he hasn't been able to take his eyes off me?"

"Please don't tell me you're really that dense," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, Ginny."

Ginny sighed again. "Never mind then."

The two girls sat for some time in front of the fireplace chatting about what they hoped for the future. Ginny, of course, had hoped to soon be married to Harry, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do as a career. Ginny could only imagine herself as a house-wife, like her mother. There was nothing wrong with that, but as a child she'd always wanted more for herself.

Hermione, on the other hand, had no plans for marriage in the near or distant future. Once, she had thought her and Ron would get married, start a family, and live happily ever after. Now, however, she couldn't see that happening anymore. As for a career, she hoped to work for the Ministry of Magic, maybe bring S.P.E.W. to the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

As the two of them fell silent after talking about their future plans, Hermione couldn't help but start thinking about what needed to be done about her relationship with Ron again. She knew what she had to do, it was just the matter of actually doing it. Hermione knew she had to break up with him, but she was scared. She was scared of how badly he would react and whether or not they would still remain friends after the break up.

Hermione was soon broken from her thoughts as Harry had entered the common room.

"Hey, Hermione. Hey, Ginny," he said as he rounded the couches and plopped down next to Ginny, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Hermione turned to face Harry, realizing she should ask for his advice. "Hey, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk for a minute?"

Harry looked from Hermione to Ginny and back again, unsure of what to say. Ginny whispered into Harry's ear, nodded to Hermione, then got up and bid them both a good night.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Can we go somewhere a little more, um…" Hermione scooted forward on the couch until she was sitting on the edge on the cushion, "Private?"

* * *

 _Author's note: Ooooh, I wonder what Hermione wants with Harry in private?! I'm sure you all can guess at this point ;)_

 _Just wanted to say thanks for putting up with such infrequent updates from me. It's officially been over two years since I posted the very first chapter of Their Final Year. I never imagined it would take me two years to get where I am now. I'd honestly hoped to have finished this story by now. Alas, life always has other plans, eh?_

 _As always, thank you to my reviewers and readers. I love you all!_

 _Remember to review! Adios until next time! ~NinjaDays_


	18. Chapter 18

That night's dinner had been the best Draco had had all year. Even though the rest of his house had still been ignoring his existence, he was in a wonderful mood and couldn't be bothered by anything. The meal itself was grand, as always, but it was what had happened earlier in the day that had Draco's mood so great. Not only did Hermione allow him to kiss her in such a manor, and in a semi-public area no less, but she had seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

A small smile, barely visible unless you looked closely enough, played across Draco's face as he replayed the kiss by the lake in his mind over and over again. It wasn't until his fork had smashed the note from Professor McGonagall into his mashed potatoes that he finally snapped out of his revere.

 _Tomorrow, huh?_ Draco thought, _looks like I'll be getting even more alone time with Hermione._ Draco smirked at the thought as he tucked the small note into his pocket and stood up from the table, finished with his meal. Casting a quick glance towards the Gryffindor table, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, fingering the note, and sauntered out of the Great Hall, headed towards the dungeons.

Draco barely paid any attention to where he was going, his feet automatically took him along the very familiar path he'd come to know like the back of his hand. His mind again wandered back to that afternoon with Hermione by the lake. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't rid himself of get the image of her in the sunlight, the sun glinting off of her hair, the way her lips felt against his own, the flushed look on her cheeks after they pulled away from each other. His heart began to ache more and more each time the scene replayed itself.

Once Draco was tucked away on is four poster bed, the curtains drawn around himself, he broke out his Transfiguration book in an attempt to distract his mind. He ended up rereading the same paragraph four or five times before he actually understood the words he was reading. Finally, after roughly half an hour of repetitive reading, his brain began to wander away from Hermione and onto what he was reading. It wasn't long, however, until his mind began to go back to her once more.

Sighing, Draco gave up reading, marked his place in his book, and put it back into his bag. He laid on his back and placed his hands behind his head, closing his eyes. He decided to give up fighting his brain and let it go wherever it wanted to. As he predicted, it went back to Hermione, only this time to their conversation on the train ride at the beginning of the school year.

 _The silence between himself and Hermione seemed to last for an eternity after he had sat back down in the seat across from her. He kept his head against the window and his eyes closed, afraid to look at her, to see the hatred and anger he was so used to seeing._

 _He waited and waited, bracing himself for the barrage of insults that never came. Slowly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes, finally looking at Hermione. Draco found her with her head down towards her lap, her hands twisting and turning around themselves. He could see her brow was furrowed under her thick hair. She obviously had something on her mind, and it seemed to Draco that she was fighting with herself on it. He looked away, staring down at his own lap and his own two hands, thinking of all of the bad things those hands had been the direct cause of._

 _"I don't blame you, you know… For what you did… Or, didn't do, that is… With your aunt…"_

 _Draco snapped his head up so fast when Hermione had spoken that his neck had actually cracked from the sudden movement. Ignoring the short, sharp pain he felt in his neck, Draco narrowed his eyes at her, his expression completely full of disbelief and mistrust. She still kept her head down, concentrating on her fingers and the way they worked as they turned with each other._

It was the first time Draco had relived their conversation from the train ride. The conversation seemed like it happened ages ago, when in reality it had only been a few weeks. So much had changed in that short amount of time, things that he never would have imagined had happened, and he was feeling something he thought himself completely incapable of feeling.

It wasn't long before his thoughts were interrupted by a slight pop somewhere above where he laid. He opened his eyes and found a small slip of parchment on his stomach, but he couldn't make out any writing from the angle he was at. Draco sat up, the parchment slipping from his stomach into his lap before he was able to prevent it from falling.

 _I know what I have to do, but I still have to come up with_

 _a way to do it. It will happen, I promise._

Draco's heart leapt in his chest at the short yet promising note. Unknown to him, he was grinning from ear to ear. It was probably the first time he had smiled completely, and not just on the outside, but from his soul, too. He knew by the way the note was written that he needn't reply. Draco folded the letter back up carefully, matching the creases already in the parchment with grace, and tucked it away in the bottom of his trunk.

He laid back on his bed with his arms under his head once more, completely at ease with himself. He sighed in content and closed his eyes, still smiling like a fool. He started to think about what Weasley would be like when Granger broke the news to him. Draco imagined him crumbling, crying like a baby for days on end. The thought made him chuckle. Turning to lay on his side, he soon fell asleep still imagining how Ron will react.

* * *

Draco woke the next morning feeling completely refreshed. He'd slept well that night and didn't remember dreaming. He wasn't sure if he actually had a dream and didn't remember it or if he hadn't dreamt at all. Either way, he felt great and didn't give it a second thought. He showered, dressed, and left the dormitory.

He'd barely made it into the Entrance Hall when he was accosted by Headmistress McGonagall, who was practically running down the staircase towards him. "Mr. Malfoy, come with me at once." For a brief moment he only stared at her, but immediately followed after her retreating back as she hastily went back up the stairs. Other students in the hall were staring at him, some whispering behind their hands to their friends.

"What's the death eater done now?"

"I hope he's being expelled-"

Draco paid them no mind as he continued following Headmistress McGonagall through the castle, having heard everything before. Neither of them said a word to each other as they headed towards the third floor corridor. Headmistress McGonagall said the password to the gargoyle statue before they'd even made it to the statue itself. She ushered Draco inside her office and closed the door quickly behind herself.

Standing just inside the doorway, Draco waited while McGonagall walked around him to her desk. He was nervous, quickly running through the events of the past few weeks, looking for some sign of him potentially being in trouble. As far as he knew, he'd been perfectly acceptable this year. He'd kept his head down, stayed away from any sort of gossip and trouble makers, barely talking to anyone but Hermione.

"Sit," she said, motioning to one of the chairs in front of the desk while she, herself, took a seat behind it. She remained silent afterwards, waiting for him to take his seat. Once he had, she continued.

"Mr. Malfoy..."

She paused and sighed, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. She returned her glasses to her face and continued once more.

"Mr. Malfoy, I have just received word from your mother."

"M-my mother? B-but-"

McGonagall raised her hand and hushed Draco. He reclined back into his seat, having leaned forward at the mention of his mother. Gripping the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles were white, he waited in anticipation for her to continue.

"It's-it's your father, Draco."

* * *

 _Author's note:_ Well, that was an unexpected twist! In all honesty, the ending to this chapter was definitely not in the original planning, and what happens from here on out was not where I saw this story going when I first began writing it. It's crazy how that happens when you're writing away!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and thank you all so much for the reviews! As usual, review review review!


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